RICHMOND, Va. — Danica Patrick was bewildered when she heard the criticism for her driving at Iowa Speedway, especially from Indianapolis 500 winner Scott Dixon, who called her “a menace.”
“Yeah, it’s surprising,” Patrick said. “It’s especially surprising that he was only behind me on the last restart.
“And he flew by me. So, that’s the only time he was near me.
“I don’t understand.”
While Dixon didn’t have anything further to say about Patrick this past weekend at Richmond, he didn’t regret making the “she’s a menace” comment at Iowa.
“No,” Dixon said. “Why would I?”
Patrick realizes she has a big target on her back, but the recent round of criticism in regards to blocking on the short tracks has left her wondering why she is being singled out. And prior to taking the track at Richmond Int’l Raceway last weekend, she was asked which was a bigger insult — to be called a “menace” by Dixon or the “new Scott Sharp of the IndyCar Series” by Carpenter?
“They’re both bad,” Patrick said. “Neither of them is good. Anybody will agree with that. So, again, I don’t know where the comments came from. I really don’t. I mean, sure, I don’t know where they came from, that’s really all I can say.”
Sharp was a long-time IndyCar driver known for blocking on the race track.
Usually polished and professional, Patrick was at a loss for how she became involved in her latest controversy.
“I’ve never been different my whole career,” Patrick said “I’ve always been the same person. So, I just try and be consistent and follow the weekend as it goes. And, so, I really try not to pay too much attention to what goes on around me and focus on myself because ultimately, at the end of the day, there’s nothing I can do about those emotions and there’s nothing I can do about negative comments.
“Really, the ideal thing is to never hear about them or never know about them. So, it’s not really my center of focus, that’s for sure.”
Patrick’s look of determination is a scowl as she marches through the paddock towards her race car, giving some the impression she is aloof and unapproachable.
Her team owner, Michael Andretti, can relate to that because he suffered the same perception as a race driver.
“It’s just like what happened with me,” Andretti said. “I was so focused people thought I was stuck up when I didn’t even know anybody was around. I looked miserable, but that’s only because that was my focus face. I’ve been there so many times in my career.”
Andretti even finds a certain level of hypocrisy in the most Patrick’s most recent controversy.
“It makes me laugh, to be honest,” Andretti said. “A lot of those guys need to look in the mirror before they make a comment. What was Dixon thinking before that restart at Iowa? He just about crashed her and put her in a position where she was between Marco (Andretti) and Scott. It’s people stirring stuff up for no reason.
“Everybody is always trying to come up with something. She needs to stay focused and win more races again. She has run into a slump where she isn’t getting the car right and having some bad luck. My feelings haven’t changed about her at all. She is a real talent and will win some races.”
Used to attention, controversy and pressure, Patrick is now used to the heat that comes with being the center of attention.
“I don’t know any different,” Patrick said. “When it gets calm, we’ll all be in shock, won’t we? I don’t mind it. I don’t mind managing it. It’s all part of the game and I’m fortunate that everybody wants to talk about me.
“Neither of them (Dixon and Carpenter) have talked to me. I didn’t do anything, so I don’t really have any questions other than I don’t understand. It’s racing. Everybody will have their own opinion on all of it. I’m always on the hot seat, guys. I’ll always go on the hot seat, whether I have something to talk about or not.”
Carpenter admitted he did have some regret as to what he said after the Iowa race.
“I thought about it later. I feel really bad about it,” Carpenter said. “I really threw Scott Sharp under the bus.”