Danica unveils 'sporty, very cool' racing look
Showing she's 'edgy and fun,' driver has new orange and black car paint
 Tom Strickland / AP IRL driver Danica Patrick sits in her new IndyCar before showing if off for the media on the tarmac at the Indianapolis International Airport in Indianapolis on Friday, May 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Tom Strickland) |
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INDIANAPOLIS - IndyCar driver Danica Patrick took one quick glance at her nifty, new orange-and-black car on Friday and thought back to 2007.
It was that year her ex-teammate, Dario Franchitti, won the Indianapolis 500 in a car bearing the same colors.
No, Patrick doesn't expect a different paint job to give her that coveted Indy win this month, but she thought it can't hurt, either.
"I think the colors are really sporty and very cool," she said. "It sort of reflects how I am, edgy and fun."
But the first woman to win an IndyCar race certainly does not need an overhaul to be competitive.
After winning in Japan last year, she opened this season with finishes of 15th at St. Petersburg, Florida; fourth at Long Beach, California; and fifth last weekend at Kansas. She ranks sixth in the points standings heading into the biggest race of the IndyCar season, on May 24.
And Indianapolis has always been one of her best tracks.
She burst onto the scene here as a rookie in 2005, becoming the first woman to lead a lap before finishing fourth. The 27-year-old American has never qualified worse than 10th at Indy and has three top-10 finishes in four career starts.
This year, she wants more.
"I wouldn't drive for a team unless I thought they were capable of winning," she said. "We do everything to make sure this is the race we win this season, and I see no reason that we can't keep this up."
Patrick's three-year deal with Andretti Green Racing expires after this season, fueling speculation that the series could lose its most marketable personality to either NASCAR or Formula One.
If team co-owner Michael Andretti has his way, it won't happen.
Andretti said on Friday that he and Patrick have discussed an extension, though no deal is in place.
Patrick did not discuss the negotiations on Friday.
Instead, she is intent on achieving the biggest win of her career.
"I'm really comfortable and feeling good about the other drivers on our team," she said. "There's a level of comfort and a level of friendship, and I think we've got that this year. I've been having a lot of fun this year. I just keep thinking Dario won a couple of years ago in orange and black."
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