Danica Enters Familiar Comfort Zone at Brickyard
July 20, 2017 | By Paul Kelly, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the most grueling in North American motorsports, with 36 points races from February to November.
Drivers and teams criss-cross the United States in a relentless grind of travel, sponsor and media commitments, and racing, with just one weekend off between Easter and the final race of the season on the Sunday before Thanksgiving.
But there’s still a race and a place in the middle of that stretch that provide extra invigoration for Danica Patrick – the Brantley Gilbert Big Machine Brickyard 400 on July 21-23 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“I love going to Indy,” Patrick said. “I love driving through the tunnel and coming into the track – when it’s empty – just seeing the Pagoda. It’s just such a special place, and I have so many great memories from there. No matter what car I’m driving, I always feel the track’s magnitude and just how special of a place it is.”
Who can blame her for these good vibes? In May 2005, Patrick accelerated a rising prospect in open-wheel racing circles to a global phenomenon after she qualified fourth, led 19 laps and finished fourth in her Indianapolis 500 debut.
She competed the next six years in the Indianapolis 500 and ended up with a total of six top-10 finishes, including a best of third in 2009, before moving to NASCAR in 2012. She also electrified fans, becoming one of the most popular drivers in North American motorsports.
Patrick, from Roscoe, Illinois, hasn’t duplicated her open-wheel success at Indianapolis in NASCAR racing. Her best finish in four consecutive Brickyard starts between 2013-16 is 22nd last year with Stewart-Haas Racing.
But that hasn’t diminished her love for the famed 2.5-mile oval and all of its people and traditions.
“I think the best thing about coming back is that it feels familiar and it feels comfortable,” Patrick said. “I like seeing it. I just feel like I’ve had a lot of different experiences there that can help me and, again, it’s just a special place where I feel like, from the beginning, I’ve always really believed that you have to show this track respect and it will hopefully show you the respect back.
“I’ve always thought that, and, especially in an Indy car, this place can bite you pretty big. I don’t think it’s too much different in a stock car, to be honest. It’s just a very familiar place. We spent so much time there during the month of May that it becomes like a second home, almost. It’s not like the Indy 500 was a three-day show. You spent just about the entire month there. My parents live outside of Indy, as do my sister and her family, so it’s nice to come back.”
While there are few similarities between 1,580-pound, winged, open-wheel Indy cars and 3,325-pound fendered NASCAR cars, Patrick finds some common pavement between the two vehicles in the search for speed at IMS.
“It’s just about finding a balance with the car out there, which is no different in a stock car than in an Indy car,” Patrick said. “All you’re doing in an Indy car is trimming it out. If I could have more downforce in these cars, I’d probably take it because, in an Indy car, we learned very quickly that it’s about how much throttle you could carry around.”
But there is a difference in the racing line between the two vehicles at Indy.
“The stock cars get very low in the corners, and that can be a little bit of a danger in an Indy car, especially if you get just a little bit too low and get a little loose,” Patrick said. “So that’s a little bit different, I suppose.”
The wings on Indy cars also generate much more downforce than the front splitter and rear spoiler on a NASCAR Cup car. That creates a different kind of racing at IMS compared to many other NASCAR tracks, as drivers must plan passes a turn or two ahead, get strong drive off the corner and then try to rocket past a rival before entering the tight confines of the next turn.
“I think it’s still a great race, and I personally enjoy traditional passing because that’s my background,” Patrick said. “That’s my go-karting, road-course-racing background. So much of what I did growing up was setting up the pass, getting inside of them and them having to kind of give way because there are not two lanes, so I do enjoy that challenge.”
The Brantley Gilbert Big Machine Brickyard 400 will start at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, July 23, featuring all of the stars of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
Visit IMS.com to purchase tickets for all 2017 IMS events, including the Brantley Gilbert Big Machine Brickyard 400 and Lilly Diabetes 250 on July 21-23, and for more information on all events.