FORT WORTH, Texas — When Danica Patrick confronted and grabbed Dan Wheldon after last Sunday’s IndyCar race at The Milwaukee Mile over her displeasure at getting cut off earlier in the race, it provided Texas Motor Speedway promoter Eddie Gossage with the chance to create a promotional masterpiece.
“Promotion is an art form, but this one is like painting by numbers,” Gossage said, explaining his public relations blitz proclaiming this as “The Rumble at the Speedway.”
“I hope they are OK with it, but we have to do this. This is a softball right over the middle. What are we supposed to do, not swing at it? As a member of the international brotherhood of race promoters Local 817, I took an oath. I have to do this.”
A huge banner was draped over the broadcast center at the end of the garage area at Texas Motor Speedway with the words “Danica vs. Wheldon” next to facial shots of both drivers, along with quotes from last Sunday’s confrontation.
“If he thinks I’m not going to remember that, HE’S CRAZY!” is the quote next to Patrick’s face. Above Wheldon’s mug is the quote “She’s just feeling the pressure of not winning races.”
Gossage also sent out a “Tale of the Tape” to both local and national media, billing this as Dan “The Battlin’ Brit” Wheldon vs. Danica “The Phoenix Firebird” Patrick. Below is the tale of the tape with the most telling statistic of all – 13 wins for Wheldon to zero for Patrick.
But when it comes to fierce drive and determination, few can doubt that Patrick has the heart of an assassin, especially the way she tracked down Wheldon and voiced her displeasure after the Milwaukee race.
Wheldon did not even look at Patrick in the eye as he tried to leave the diminutive diva as she vented her anger at him.
From a promoter’s perspective, Gossage couldn’t have dreamed of a better scenario entering Saturday night’s IndyCar Bombardier Learjet 550k at Texas Motor Speedway.
“The beauty of this thing is it is something that happened in the field of competition,” Gossage said. “It happened on the race track, so it’s a perfect promotion. It happened on its own. The incident happened in front of all of us. They said what they said and it happened between the most newsworthy person in the series and one of the most quotable people who won’t back down from it.”
At Wednesday night’s autograph session, Wheldon and Patrick were seated at the same table separated by Wheldon’s former teammate and friend, Tony Kanaan, who is teammates with Patrick at Andretti Green Racing.
Kanaan wore a referee shirt while the two drivers signed autographs for the fans without much interaction between each other.
It’s good old-fashioned promotion launched by a man who learned from the famed Bruton Smith and Humpy Wheeler when he worked for both at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
When Gossage saw the replays of Wheldon cutting off Patrick as she tried to make a pass early in last Sunday’s race, only for her to spin out but regain control of the car, followed by the confrontation on pit lane afterwards, he could barely contain himself.
“I was giddy; I couldn’t sleep,” Gossage said. “I couldn’t wait until I came to the speedway to work the next day. This has been the most fun week in my career because it has all the ingredients.
“This one is the perfect recipe.”
The war of words continued through the week until Friday, when IRL President of Competition Brian Barnhart forced the two to “bury the hatchet.”
Meanwhile, Gossage sat back and smiled in the same manner of boxing promoter Don King, who was pictured with Gossage on the “Rumble at the Speedway” banners that flooded this market.