Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma Teleconference Danica Patrick

You had your best finish of fifth at Infineon Raceway last year. With more road courses on the schedule this year, are you looking forward to returning to Sonoma?

DP: Definitely. I didn’t enjoy going to Sonoma so much the first couple of years. I struggled quite a bit, but I moved over to Andretti Green Racing and my first year there with the team I qualified on the front row and finished sixth that year, and from then on I’ve enjoyed going back. I definitely look forward to going back again this year. We’ve been strong the last couple of years, and, as an addition, I definitely like the view (of the wine country).

Can you talk about the changes recently made to the cars, in terms of the overtake-assist button, and how it will affect the road course?

DP: I would have to say that it’s going to be probably significantly less of a help on the road courses than the ovals. I don’t know what the difference is with extra parts on the car for downforce. I don’t know what the changes are there yet, or if we even have those bits or not. I’m not that technically inclined, but in terms of the push-to-pass it’s not enough. Five horsepower when you’re talking about 700 or 750 horsepower is just not a very big percentage. It helps more when you’re carrying a lot of momentum at speed, like on an oval.

Dave Despain on Wind Tunnel said you’d be on the show soon. What’s the date and do you plan to make any announcements about your future plans at that time?

DP: I believe I’m supposed to be on the show on Sunday after Chicago on the 30th of August. I have no idea about announcements. Things are always progressing in the contract world, but I’d say there’s a low likelihood that an announcement would come on a show like that.

Do you have any idea in terms of timing for an announcement?

DP: Wouldn’t you love to know? I have no idea. It’s really a matter of when everything gets done and when everything has come to terms. It’s very difficult to know when that’s going to happen. All I can say is I know things are moving forward and we’re trying to work things out.

Do you have any certain thing you try to eat before you drive to fuel yourself, and I hear you’ve been baking cookies for the team or something?

DP: I baked the team cookies for Milwaukee after Indy. They had done such a tremendous job at Indy with pit stops and everything and working so hard all month, and they definitely deserved a treat. I made chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin. My favorite are oatmeal raisin, of course. Before a race, it’s definitely not foodie food, it’s just simple food like a little chicken or turkey for protein or even eggs. And then some simple carbohydrates like wheat toast or potatoes. Not too much fat, but a little fat like peanut butter or oil is good. That’s about it, and I try to eat as close to the race as possible. During the race, I have a blend of water and a sugary drink like Gatorade or POWERade.

Do you think you’ll be able to fit in any wine shopping on this trip to Sonoma?

DP: I’m sure I’ll find time to drink wine and buy some wine, and buy some wine and drink some wine. I also plan on some good food.

During the last year, we’ve been hearing rumors about you going to Formula One or NASCAR. Is there any truth to those rumors?

DP: The Formula One rumor came when there was the American Formula One team starting up, but there’s not really any truth to that. I had not been contacted about it and wasn’t extremely interested either. I prefer to race in the U.S. and be near my family and friends. This is really where I prefer to be. The NASCAR rumors are true. We’re definitely exploring all the opportunities that are out there for me as a driver and as a business and a brand. So, one is more true than the other.

How would you rate your career so far and where would you say you are now?

DP: I think it’s not easy to rate your own career. I try and draw realistic expectations based on the weekend and what kind of car I have underneath me and where I am as a driver and what I’ve been working on. I have little victories every weekend and sometimes there are bigger victories than others, and other times you make mistakes and you learn from them. I’m always moving forward, always working through it. I don’t ever give myself a grade on what I think my season has been like and what I’ve been like overall as a I driver. I think it’s preferable to ask what other people think of me as a driver. I think that’s a more accurate judgment if you ask my peers.

In terms of where I am in my career, I think that learning everything you can within five years is impossible. I think learning everything over your whole career is impossible. The longer you go, the more you learn, it’s just the way it goes. Take Mark Martin for instance, he’s been racing forever and look how many wins he has this year. You’re always moving along as a driver. You just keep gaining more experience and getting better overall from so many different aspects. This year I feel more comfortable than ever, but then again in the first few years of a career you’re going to feel like that. I doubt years 10 and 11 are going to feel as different as years four and five. I’m always learning. That’s never going to end for me.

Ever look back on some of the early races and think how “young I was” or “how little I knew”?

DP: Sure, I look back especially in my first year, and I had a really fast car that year and had a few pole positions that year and a great run at Indy, and I think how exciting it would be to have the speed of the car that first year in a year like this where you feel much more experienced and ready for everything. That’s all a part of it and racing is always coming and going in waves, and sometimes you have really amazing cars and some years you have to struggle through it and push. Those are the years you learn a lot, as well. I’m sure it’ll come around when I can say I’ve got these really fast cars and it’s really easy.

What’s the biggest thing you think you’ve had to learn?

DP: That’s a really broad question. I’ve had to learn how to do everything from scheduling my day to getting in and out of the pits to passing on the high side to timing passes to just the easiest way to travel to a location. It’s been amazing how much experience I’ve gained on and off the track in the last five years of my life.

What is your goal for the rest of the season?

DP: I think that probably at this point in time it’s most realistic to have a top-five finish in the championship. I think there’s a small shot that I could bump up in to fourth, but Helio (Castroneves) would have to have some misfortune and I’d have to catch some breaks. Every now and again when he has a bad race and doesn’t finish, I get within a couple points of him. He’s a great driver, so I think that I’d be able to look back and feel it was a pretty decent season if I was able to finish in the top five. At this time my goal is to stay in that top five.

Are there any tricks to racing at Infineon Raceway or things you do to prepare for this road course?

DP: Road courses are in general a bit more physical then the ovals. Infineon is a particularly challenging, as it has tons of up-hill and downhill compressions, which makes the car get heavy with the steering and difficult to turn. You make sure your body is in the best possible shape it can be in, not only from a strength position but from a recovery position, as well, so that you’re ready to go and your muscles aren’t trying to recover, they’re ready to do the job.

How do you prepare your body? Do you work out? Lift weights?

DP: I’ve been working out since I was probably 14 years old, and that seems like forever, but my job keeps me in shape and off the track I try to eat healthy and fuel my body with the right things to make it as strong and healthy as possible. I do a lot of cardiovascular activities, so I run a lot and do some interval training, and I lift weights a handful of times a week to work different body parts. Fitness is a big part of my job. Any day you don’t want to do it, you have to remind yourself that it’s your job and this is not really an option, you have to do it.

I’ve heard other drivers say how hard it can be to satisfy fan requests. How do you deal with all the fans?

DP: I do everything possible. Every time I come and go from the truck, if I’m not in a time crunch and have one minute to get a to a drivers’ meeting or something, I try to sign a few autographs, particularly for kids when I have even less time. The autograph lines, I try to move everyone along but try to give them special attention too because if they got in line with enough time to get up to the table and get an autograph, they deserve a nice hello as well. I just try to be nice to them all and some days it’s harder than others. When you’re having a tough day on track, it’s just like when you have a bad day at work. But they don’t always see all of that. You have to realize that they’re your fans, and they don’t even know what happens sometimes that day. They don’t know that you’re 14th and disappointed and mad, they just want to meet their favorite driver. It’s things like that that are important to keep in mind when you're having a tough day. I’m very flattered to have all the fans and I try to make as much time as I can.

What’s the best way for you to rebound from a tough day?

DP: I like to use the expression “fake it ‘til you believe it.” So if someone asks how I’m doing, I just completely lie out of my teeth and say “I’m doing amazing.” I just fake it until I believe it again. It really works.

Are you trying to have more fun this year?

DP: I am, yes, exactly. Like I said, I use the “fake it ‘til you believe it” theory. But, I also very much enjoy the people I work with this year. We’ve had a change of engineering in the front of our truck and everybody’s different. I’ve always gotten along with all the folks I’ve worked with, but particularly this year we are able to laugh and make fun of each other without it being personal.

Is Infineon Raceway the most physically demanding road course that the series runs on?

DP: That’s probably true. It’s probably the most physical because it has a lot of grip, but there are lot of corners and a lot of long sweeping corners. That’s a lot of work on your body because you can go fast through them, as well as the fact that you have to turn and shift and all that. I’d say it’s the most physical.