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Danica Patrick set for Edmonton race, gets more questions on Duno dust-up |
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Written by Dean Bennett, THE CANADIAN PRESS
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Thursday, 24 July 2008 |
Danica Patrick, from the United States, describes the handling of her car following a practice session for the Edmonton Indy, in Edmonton, Alta., July 24, 2008. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
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EDMONTON - Danica Patrick didn't make excuses Thursday for her smash-hit web video dustup with fellow driver Milka Duno, but suggested she regrets the effect the profanity-laced five-star YouTube fare will have on youngsters.
"I need to watch it, be careful, you know, just not do anything that draws attention that's not always the most positive," Patrick told a news conference before the first practice session for Saturday's Rexall Edmonton Indy (5 p.m. ET).
"I want kids to be fans of me and parents to be excited about watching, too."
Patrick vs. Duno - which occurred last Saturday during pre-race trials for the Mid-Ohio race in Lexington - has generated hundreds of thousands of web hits and has led national TV sportscasts.
On the video, shot by a Duno friend who was nearby, Patrick confronts the 36-year-old Venezuelan, complaining that her Dallara was blocking her in the corners.
"Do you see me (in the corners)?" she asks Duno, leaning over the pit wall.
Duno would listen to none of it, twice throwing a towel at Patrick, shouting and demanding she leave, prompting an exasperated Patrick to finally shout: "It's not my fault you're ... slow." Patrick threw in an expletive before the word "slow."
Duno, who shares a ride with Townsend Bell in the Dreyer and Reinbold No. 23 car, is not racing in Edmonton.
Patrick, who drives the black-and-blue No. 7 Motorola car for Andretti-Green Racing, said she's learning to adapt to the searing glare of the spotlight.
"There are always cameras and TVs and things around, so I just have to watch what I'm doing and where I'm doing it, and that's probably the lesson I've learned over the last few years - people are always watching.
"What can I say, it's a double-edged sword. People are always watching, but people are always watching."
She has learned to live with the controversy and popularity that began after she finished fourth as a rookie in the 2005 Indianapolis 500.
Since then, the 26-year-old Wisconsin-born racer has parlayed her good looks and driving skill into a public relations juggernaut that includes TV Super Bowl commercials, merchandise trailers, talk-show appearances and Sports Illustrated swimsuit spreads.
Her Q-rating hit the stratosphere in April when she won her first major open-wheel race, at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan.
But the fallout means her run-ins with other drivers are now beamed around the world instantaneously, including a pushing match with Dan Wheldon in 2007 when she felt he cut her off and put her under the inside line at Milwaukee.
At the Indianapolis 500 this May, she marched down pit row, her driving helmet still on, ready to confront Ryan Briscoe for launching out of pit row on a fuel stop and knocking her out of the race. She was redirected by security before she could reach him and said later it was probably best for all.
"As a driver I'm not afraid to have conversations with other drivers," she said.
"My personality is definitely a passionate personality.
"I'm very focused and very into what I'm doing. There are drivers out there that are more calm and there are drivers that are more excited and that goes across the board.
"It's not a learned thing; it's just a genetic thing."
Her Andretti-Green teammate, Tony Kanaan, said he empathizes.
"She's trying to have a conversation with somebody, people think it's a fight and they record it and put it everywhere. That's the price to be famous.
"There's a lot of pressure. A lot of people are expecting a lot of things out of her and you guys have no idea how much that girl is strong and how much she puts into it.
"I don't think we're going to see another (female) race car driver as good as Danica as long as I live."
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