INDIANAPOLIS — A deep-seated intensity that often turned to anger has fueled Danica Patrick’s racing personality — until now.
Preparing for her fourth Indianapolis 500 in the wake of her historic and long-awaited first major triumph, Patrick is trying hard to focus that intensity in a more positive direction.
“I realize, over time now, how unproductive being angry all the time is and how it doesn’t really do any good for my driving,” Patrick said Thursday while watching the rain fall outside the Andretti Green Racing’s hospitality tent, washing away the second straight day of practice for the May 25 race. “I think that being positive does.”
Patrick said part of the problem is that there are always doubters, people who refuse to believe a woman can be truly competitive in racing.
“Unfortunately, in my position, it takes awhile to prove yourself,” she said. “And, unfortunately, also in my position, I’m never going to convince some people.”
The fact that her victory April 20 in Motegi, Japan — the first IndyCar win by a woman — was the result of fuel strategy, gave some of the naysayers even more fodder.
“I heard somebody say in an interview, ‘Well, she didn’t actually win.’ I don’t understand how anyone can possibly say that,” Patrick said, shaking her head. “I think it’s hilarious. You’re still not going to convince everybody.
“But, just as you get into a good group of people and you have great teammates and great engineers and good owners and people who really believe in you, all that stuff makes a difference.”
Still, it’s been a common sight after races the past few seasons to see a frustrated and irritated Patrick, her faced clouded by anger, stalking away from her race car — even after a good finish.
It wasn’t a pretty sight.
“I will say that it started, that whole being angry thing, because I wanted people to know that I wasn’t OK with finishing sixth,” Patrick said. “I wasn’t OK with driving my butt off and finishing eighth. I wasn’t OK with those results. I’m not OK with finishing third.
“I want to win races and I wanted people to know that. I didn’t want them to see me smiling and going ‘Woo-h00’ and them saying, ‘That’s it? That’s all she hopes for?’ I wanted them to know that I wished and believed in more.”
But Patrick is now 26, in her fourth IndyCar season and the most popular driver in the series. And, thanks to her victory in Japan, she’s also a winner.
“She’s a much more mature person now than when I first met her,” AGR teammate Tony Kanaan said. “She has handled so much pressure, with people saying she’d never win or that she couldn’t do the job.
“Well, now she has proven she can win and she can do the job. And not just to everyone else, to herself. That can change the way you look at things.”
On Saturday, Patrick will have an opportunity to show her maturity — as a race driver and as a person — when she tries to win the pole for her fourth 500.
