G.
03-22-07, 01:29 PM
Patrick, who will turn 25 on Sunday, is coming off a disappointing sophomore season. She finished ninth in the points but rarely was in contention for her first race victory as the team struggled all year after Rahal Letterman rookie Paul Dana was killed in a crash during the race-day warmup for last year's opener at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
"As the races go on and the seasons go on, I feel more pressure to do well, to perform," said Patrick, whose was unable to improve on a rookie season that ignited "Danica-mania."
"If it was as simple as one more season should give you better results, then that should have happened from season one to season two. But the circumstances were that we had an engine advantage the first year. We had a chassis advantage in certain places the first year. The team was in much better condition than it was the second year," she said.
"While I drove better and more flawlessly and more aggressively and with more knowledge, it didn't translate as much because of all those circumstances."
That disappointment led to her move to Andretti Green, where a friendly rivalry with Andretti could be good for both drivers, as well as an open-wheel series still struggling to gain a foothold with American race fans.
http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/motorracing/wire/sns-ap-car-irl-season-preview,1,6795458.story?coll=sns-ap-racing-headlines
Maybe I'm missing the context, but dissing on your old crew ain't cool. Management, sure, that's a time-honored tradition.
"As the races go on and the seasons go on, I feel more pressure to do well, to perform," said Patrick, whose was unable to improve on a rookie season that ignited "Danica-mania."
"If it was as simple as one more season should give you better results, then that should have happened from season one to season two. But the circumstances were that we had an engine advantage the first year. We had a chassis advantage in certain places the first year. The team was in much better condition than it was the second year," she said.
"While I drove better and more flawlessly and more aggressively and with more knowledge, it didn't translate as much because of all those circumstances."
That disappointment led to her move to Andretti Green, where a friendly rivalry with Andretti could be good for both drivers, as well as an open-wheel series still struggling to gain a foothold with American race fans.
http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/motorracing/wire/sns-ap-car-irl-season-preview,1,6795458.story?coll=sns-ap-racing-headlines
Maybe I'm missing the context, but dissing on your old crew ain't cool. Management, sure, that's a time-honored tradition.