Danica stresses qualifying at Iowa
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When asked about this weekend’s Iowa Corn Indy 250 at Iowa Speedway during Tuesday’s teleconference, IRL superstar Danica Patrick stressed one thing — qualifying.
“My first two years at Iowa have been OK,” Patrick said. “It’s a tough place to pass. It got a little easier last year to pass on the outside, but the high line is a long way around. Qualifying is important. We need to qualify well, and then stay up front.”
Patrick and the rest of the IndyCar drivers will have two chances to practice at Iowa Speedway early Saturday before qualifying begins at 4:15 p.m. Live coverage of the Iowa Corn Indy 250 begins on ABC at noon Sunday with the green flag dropping at 12:30 p.m.
“Every race we go to, we need to perform well and give the fans a great show,” Patrick said. “I want to make it entertaining.”
Currently Patrick, who drives the No. 7 car for Andretti Green Racing, is sitting in fifth in the point standings but is just 32 points behind leader Ryan Briscoe. She also is 19 points behind fourth-place Helio Castroneves.
“It’s always nice to start the season out well,” Patrick said. “It has been a lot of fun so far.”
Patrick has found plenty of success in her first five years in the circuit, but this year may be considered a breakout season. And it comes during her contract year with AGR.
“I want to do well this year and win as many races as I can,” said Patrick, who is one of only three drivers to have four straight top-five finishes. “To talk about my contract and do anything with my contract until the end of the year would be foolish. I won’t worry about the contract until after the season.”
While Patrick is not open to discuss too much about her future, rumors have already begun to spread about where she may end up. Chip Ganassi Racing is rumored to have spoken with her and that jump to NASCAR is always in the conversation.
“I want to win as many races as possible and continue to be up front,” said Patrick, who does Yogo to relieve stress. “That’s my ultimate focus. I also want to make the most of myself as an athlete and an endorser. All I have to do is perform, and my agents said they would take care of the rest. I just want to figure out what my options are and then go from there.”
So is signing a new deal with AGR a possiblity?
“We are working toward some things,” said Patrick about her and her current owners. “It has been a great situation this year. We are working well together. We’ll see where that goes.”
And how about that jump to NASCAR?
“Having the resources to get top performance is the main priority,” Patrick said. “It would be a good situation to be in. There’s a lot of options in and outside of the racecar. NASCAR would be a lot of fun and competitive.”
For now, Patrick is just trying to focus on getting her first win of the season and second victory of her career.
“I have been able to get used to the size and speed of the car,” Patrick said. “Now, I am on top of the car instead of the car driving me. I think we are starting to figure things out.”
This season has been super competitive throughout. No driver has held the points lead for more than one week at a time and only four drivers — Briscoe, Castroneves, Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti — have seen Victory Lane. The top five drivers are separated by just 32 points with Briscoe leading Dixon by just three points. Franchitti is in third just 11 points back of Briscoe, while Castroneves is 13 points back of the leader.
“If we keep competing where we are, those opportunities to win races will come,” Patrick said. “We’ll keep trying to get that win, but a lot of other drivers are trying to do the same.”
