Danica Patrick Feels Pressure to Win

NEW YORK (AP) -- Danica Patrick is confident she'll get her first win on the IRL circuit -- she's just not going to make a prediction about when it will happen.

One thing is certain: She'll be traveling in fast company starting Friday when she officially joins Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti and Bryan Herta on Andretti Green Racing. Her move this offseason from Rahal Letterman Racing has also ratcheted up the pressure on the only woman to ever lead at the Indianapolis 500.

"You don't ever want to have excuses because that means there's a reason you didn't win, but I'm going to have less of them now," said Patrick, who was honored Wednesday as the March of Dimes Sportswoman of the Year. "(Switching teams) always puts more pressure on the driver to perform and they're a front-running team and I'm going to expect to be there myself."

Lofty expectations have accompanied Patrick since her breakout season in 2005. In addition to leading the Indy 500, where she had to settle for fourth when her fuel ran low, she won three poles and had several other top finishes to earn Rookie of the Year honors.

Her second year on the circuit wasn't nearly as smooth.

Two fourth-place finishes were the best Patrick could muster in a season that got off to a tragic start when teammate Paul Dana died in a crash during warmups at the season opener. The team was also plagued by mechanical problems and never seemed to get on track.

After last season's struggles, Patrick is looking forward to joining a top-flight team like Andretti Green.

"Dec. 1 will be a new day. I'm very excited," she said. "I spent many years with Rahal Letterman ... and we had a lot of successes and everything, but I'm really looking for that win.

Another question that the 24-year-old Patrick can't shake is whether she would like to one day drive in NASCAR. She doesn't deny that she's attracted to it.

"I think I envy most the amount of excitement there must be every single weekend," she said. "Just the amount of people ... it's an ocean of trailers and cars; it's just a huge event."

Though she doesn't rule NASCAR out for the future, she wants to follow her heart and for now that means the IRL.

"All I know right now is I wouldn't want to be anywhere else ... no question," she said. "I'm glad that I didn't go to NASCAR. That wasn't where my heart was at all. I felt it out and saw what the interest was.

"I like open-wheel racing. I had goals as a little kid of racing the Indy 500 and winning and I'm going to keep at it till I do."

Patrick, who was appearing at a motorsports marketing forum before she received her award, thinks that the IRL can learn from NASCAR about how to better promote the circuit.

"You look everywhere and you see NASCAR drivers," she said. "They're in Holiday Inn commercials, they're advertising M&Ms. They're everywhere. And I think that's something that the IRL series sponsors need to do."

Patrick knows what she has to do to achieve her goals and overcome the friction associated with being a woman trying to excel in a male-dominated sport.

"I think that you have to be really confident because people are watching you constantly to fall," she said. "History has shown that women haven't performed in racing at the highest level consistently and if you're not there then I'm sure that they just want to say you're just another girl out there."

Her first chance to prove them wrong comes March 24 in the IRL season-opener at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

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