„Hogy hiányzik-e a versenyzés? Teljesen őszinte leszek, egyáltalán nem. Nem vagyok olyan típusú ember, aki folyamatosan a múlton rágódik és sokszor megbánja döntéseit. Időnként megkérdezik, hogy mit változtatnék meg az életemben, ha megtehetném. Nem olyan a személyiségem, aki sokat gondolkodik ilyeneken” – nyilatkozta Patrick a The Associated Press című lapnak.
„Huszonhét éven keresztül versenyeztem, az élet pedig olyan rövid, rengeteg más élmény és dolog is létezik. Rengeteg időt töltöttem versenyzéssel, most végre egészen más dolgokkal foglalkozhatok” – tette hozzá Danica Patrick, az egyetlen hölgy, aki IndyCar-versenyt nyert, vezető helyen állt mind a Daytonai 500-as, mint az Indy 500-as viadalon, 2009-ben pedig egészen a harmadik helyre tornászta fel magát, ami a gyengébbik nem legjobb eredménye Indyben
Three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves has again stated that Danica Patrick deserves credit for her IndyCar career, and that while the W Series is a significant step for women in motorsport, he admits he has mixed feelings about it.
“And that’s why I said ‘You guys are not giving enough respect to Danica because if you see her record in crashing and her record in how she was doing, she was actually doing better than an average male driver… She finished third in the Indy 500 [2009]. Just to finish is a very big accomplishment but to finish third shows she knows where to position herself, knows when to push the limit of what the car is able to give…
“I asked her why she decided [to retire] and she said, ‘That’s it, I got what I wanted, got enough money to live for a long time, and go to the next phase of life.’ So big respect.”
Castroneves also explained that while some deride Patrick’s victory at the 2008 Motegi 300 when her principal rivals were fuel saving, he said: “She won it fair and square, because I didn’t listen to my strategist! She did the work I was supposed to do! I was very upset that she won because I lost, but also happy because I knew what it meant to her.”
The record crowd raised an all-time high $450,000 for The Bobby Rahal Foundation to assist the Buckeye Ranch, which helped more than 5,000 children and families with mental, behavioral and substance abuse issues last year.
Legend Award winner Danica Patrick completely covered in gold slime
Danica Patrick, who retired from racing a couple months ago, has had an exciting week. On Wednesday night, she hosted the ESPYS, and the next day, she was given the Legend Award at Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Sports 2018.
The best part of the Legend Award is that it includes an epic gold slime shower, and the photos are always amazing.
Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 13 GoDaddy Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing
I know that’s not how you wanted your day to end. What happened?
“I do feel like it was unexpected, but on the other hand, the car was turning more than I wanted it to. I was just having to chase it a lot. Turn 2 did seem a little bit more edgy than the other corners, but I can’t say that in that point in time that I was on edge or felt like I was. It just swung around as soon as I committed back to the throttle. I wasn’t expecting it by any means, but I think it just goes to show that these cars are tough to drive. All the drivers out there are great drivers. It was definitely not the way I wanted to end, of course. I wouldn’t want to end any year like this, but being my last race, it definitely makes it a lot worse. I did have some good moments here this month. I won’t forget that, and I won’t forget my fans either."
