{"id":22747,"date":"2018-02-11T18:25:11","date_gmt":"2018-02-11T23:25:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/?p=22747"},"modified":"2018-02-11T18:25:11","modified_gmt":"2018-02-11T23:25:11","slug":"danica-patrick-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/2018\/02\/danica-patrick-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"DANICA PATRICK Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

DANICA PATRICK, NO. 7 GODADDY CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1, met with members of the media at Daytona International Speedway and discussed competing in her final Daytona 500, what she will be doing after\u00a0Sunday<\/span>\u00a0is complete, her thoughts on her new team and many other topics.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

AS A FORMER POLE WINNER FOR THIS RACE AND HAVING SOME HIGHS\u2026
\n<\/strong>\u201cBeing a former pole winner and watching myself not out there in Clash practice you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

ARE YOU RELAXED GOING INTO YOUR FINAL RUN?
\n<\/strong>\u201cYeah, I feel good.\u00a0 I think that if there is anything that I hope to feel when I get in the car in a couple of hours is familiar.\u00a0 It should all be familiar, but it\u2019s a new team and it is new stuff to sit in.\u00a0 It should all be really, really, close, but hopefully it feels familiar and I slip right into it.\u00a0 In fact, this is not a different start than I had last year.\u00a0 This is the identical same start to the season I had last year.\u00a0 I never got in the car between the last race in Homestead and the first practice in Daytona here.\u00a0 The only thing that would have been different is I would have been out in Clash practice, but other than that it is all the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

YOU ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THE CLASH DO YOU WISH YOU WERE OUT THERE TO KIND OF GET ACCLIMATED TO YOUR NEW TEAM?
\n<\/strong>\u201cYes, it all came together too late.\u00a0 In fact, thinking about what we should have done came together too late.\u00a0 A couple of days ago I was thinking to myself that we should have run the back-up car in the Clash.\u00a0 That way\u2026 we don\u2019t want to crash the primary anyway, so we are going to be careful in the duels, then you don\u2019t have to worry about practicing too hard because you will have already had Clash race.\u00a0 I was like, man, where was I on that one?\u00a0 And then all goes well, last year I finished well in the Clash, you could still have a back-up.\u00a0 So, it would have just been a good gamble to use the back-up for, but didn\u2019t think of it soon enough and was honestly just really concerned about the work getting done to put the primary car out there for the (Daytona) 500.\u00a0 Just came together too late and thought of it too late.\u00a0 It would have been good practice.\u00a0 It always is.\u00a0 It\u2019s good for these guys too.\u00a0 It\u2019s good for everybody.\u00a0 It\u2019s not like just because I\u2019m in a new situation it\u2019s good, it\u2019s just a nice refresher.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

TONY EURY, JR. SAID THAT BACK IN THE DAY IN THE HAULER HE WOULD HAVE A SIGN POINTING TO THE LOUNGE THAT SAID KEY WEST.
\n<\/strong>\u201cYeah, we were Key West.\u00a0 We were team Key West.\u00a0 Pops (Tony Eury, Sr.) was the serious side.\u00a0 We were the fun side.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE IN KEY WEST?\u00a0<\/strong>
\n\u201cTotally, yeah, it\u2019s beautiful out there and Tony (Eury, Jr.) is always funny.\u00a0 There is probably not anybody in this room that hasn\u2019t gotten a feel for what Tony Eury, Jr. is like and that is a really good spirited, happy guy that knows what he is doing. That to be honest is and will be the most critical element to come together for this program was having him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

HOW DO YOU SEE YOUR EXPERIENCE PARTICULARLY IN NASCAR CONTRIBUTING TO THE FACT THAT SOMEWHERE DOWN THE ROAD, MAYBE SOONER NOW, WE ARE GOING TO SEE WOMEN WINNING RACES, COMPETING IN THE TOP-FIVE WITH REGULARITY, HAVE YOU KIND OF SET A FOUNDATION FOR THAT?<\/strong>
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u00a0 I mean, when was the first woman in NASCAR?\u00a0 The 50\u2019s?\u00a0 So, it\u2019s been 68 years.\u00a0 So, I don\u2019t know.\u00a0 It depends on if they are interested in racing and if they want to come through.\u00a0 I think that if there is one difference that I feel is that you have to get a team behind you, but to believe in you and maybe it\u2019s a little harder because women have not proved themselves as much as men, but every driver has to prove themselves to their team.\u00a0 There is still that responsibility and that challenge is still at hand for every single driver to find a group that believes in them and gives them what they need and puts them in the right scenario.\u00a0 Perhaps it\u2019s a little bit harder for me, just based on history, but I\u2019ve had great opportunities as a driver.\u00a0 Sometimes I think it\u2019s been better than others, but that could probably be said for every single driver out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

PLAYER\u2019S TRIBUNE RELEASED YOUR EXPOSE YESTERDAY. WHAT DOES THAT TYPE OF REFLECTION LIKE FOR YOU IN WRITING THAT PIECE?
\n<\/strong>\u201cIt was funny.\u00a0 It was a conversation that was kind of fluid and it really gave some perspective to the good that I will miss as well as the things I won\u2019t miss (laughs).\u00a0 Like are you excited to be back at Daytona.\u00a0 Don\u2019t ask that question. If I can give any recommendation of all the questions that you guys ask this next 10 days, don\u2019t ask that one.\u00a0 Because there is no really good answer, yes and no, maybe, we will see.\u00a0 It\u2019s too simple of a question and not deep enough, that would be my only recommendation based on the Player\u2019s Tribune piece.\u00a0 But, it was nice.\u00a0 Honestly, it\u2019s just really like, we will roll out some stories through the Tribune with me that will be kind of those more intimate interesting stories from before and after Daytona and before and after Indy.\u00a0 Be on the lookout for another story after it\u2019s over with and \u2026 oh my God that car doesn\u2019t look like it\u2019s going straight (looking at the TV monitors in the media center). Cars look interesting on TV don\u2019t they sometimes? So, yeah, it is just part of explaining to people and giving more information on how I feel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

LAST NIGHT NATALIE DECKER TALKED ABOUT YOU AND ABOUT HOW WHEN SHE WAS IN HERE BECAUSE SHE WON THE POLE FOR THE ARCA RACE.\u00a0 WHAT DO YOU THINK THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IS FOR YOUNG WOMEN WHO ARE TRYING TO MOVE UP INTO SOME OF NASCAR\u2019s TOP TIER SERIES?
\n<\/strong>\u201cI answered that question.\u00a0 I just answered it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

SO, YOU THINK THAT JUST THAT, JUST GETTING A TEAM THAT BELIEVES IN THEM IS THE THING JUST TO FIND SOMEBODY?
\n<\/strong>\u201cYeah, that includes the owner, the crew, everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

DO YOU FEEL LIKE WOMEN HAVE EXTRA PRESSURE BECAUSE THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO EXPECT THEM TO CARRY THE BANNER FOR THEIR GENDER?
\n<\/strong>\u201cOnly if they feel like they do.\u00a0 I mean I really believe that.\u00a0 I\u2019ve never felt like that.\u00a0 I don\u2019t.\u00a0 My own banner is bigger than any other banner for what I want to accomplish for myself and then the trickle-down effect is what it is.\u00a0 But, no one expects more than me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

YOU ARE KIND OF KEEPING AN EYE ON THIS PRACTICE.\u00a0 DO YOU ANTICIPATE WATCHING RACING WHEN YOU ARE NOT A RACER ANYMORE?
\n<\/strong>\u201cI don\u2019t really watch a lot of racing when I\u2019m still racing.\u00a0 I mean, obviously, I was in 38 of them or 37 or sometimes 36, but I\u2019m sure I will watch some of it when it\u2019s somewhat convenient or when it\u2019s a big one.\u00a0 I imagine myself to be just like an average fan.\u00a0 Like that watches when it\u2019s on.\u00a0 If I\u2019m busy traveling or in an airplane or going somewhere or doing an appearance or whatever it is, then I can\u2019t watch it and I\u2019m sure I will be interested every single weekend as to how it went and the results for sure and when the big ones come along I will want to make time for it.\u00a0 I imagine myself to be like a regular fan, to be honest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

JUST TO CLARIFY THE CLASH PART OF THIS, YOU WERE ELIGIBLE FOR THE RACE, YOU KNEW THAT. BUT WAS IT A PART OF THE SPONSORSHIP PACKAGE THAT YOU WERE OFFERING?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it wasn\u2019t necessarily. It was really just to do Daytona and Indy and the Clash wasn\u2019t a priority. It was just a matter of getting everything else going. I\u2019m sure that if everything would have come together quicker, as I\u2019ve said many times to people over the last few months, I\u2019m surprised it\u2019s taking so long. If it would have come together sooner, I\u2019m sure that we would have been able to put something together for the Clash. But, I\u2019m sure it would have been extra, you know what I mean? It\u2019s not free. Turning a wheel, turning the engine on, it\u2019s never free. So, we would have surely found a way to put something together, but it just didn\u2019t come together fast enough. With the amount of time we had, it was really important that (crew chief) Tony (Eury, Jr.) and Tommy (Baldwin) and everybody putting the deal together and getting the car time to get the Hawk-EYE (optical scanning station) and all those things that are important in making sure that everything passes, there was no time to really worry too much about anything other than the primary (car).\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

THERE IS SO MUCH WORK THAT YOU HAVE TO DO BEING HERE, OBVIOUSLY, BUT HOW MUCH HAVE YOU ALLOWED YOUR MIND TO SOAK IN THE MEANING OF THIS WEEK AND THAT THIS WILL BE YOUR FINAL NASCAR START?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI actually felt like Homestead (\u201917) was that. I know it wasn\u2019t the last one, but just with the announcement, there was so much loaded emotion in that weekend that to me, that had a lot of a feel for kind of the end on some level, of racing in the Cup Series. I say I\u2019ll be fine and I\u2019m excited and I mean like, okay, everybody in the room, imagine when you leave here\u00a0on Sunday<\/span>, you don\u2019t have anything to do really for a couple of months. Seems pretty exciting, doesn\u2019t it? Right? That\u2019s how I feel. But when I think\u00a0next Sunday<\/span>\u00a0comes, I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll be a lot more retrospective or introspective and emotional about the finality of it and you know; just have a little bit more perspective. But right now, I\u2019m fine. I\u2019m good. I\u2019m excited about it all. I made the decision last year that this is what I was good with. Otherwise, I wouldn\u2019t have been doing it. So, I\u2019ve had a lot of time to mentally transition. And that transition started last year. So, I\u2019m good. I\u2019m ready. But, we just have to keep my dad away from me, to be honest. He\u2019s always the emotional one that\u2019s going to be like all choked-up and tearing with sunglasses and crunching on his water bottle and he\u2019s going to be like, just have fun out there! And, I\u2019m going to be like, gosh keep it together because I have to. So, I\u2019m sure my whole family will, but I know my dad.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

IS THERE ANYTHING SPECIFIC THAT YOU WANT TO DO ON RACE DAY OR AFTER THE RACE BECAUSE IT IS YOUR FINAL RACE? WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR\u00a0MONDAY<\/span>\u00a0AFTER THE DAYTONA 500?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I really hope that I finish and that I\u2019m hopefully in contention. That\u2019s really my hope for the Daytona 500. There\u2019s no such thing as a runaway here. So, you just hope that you\u2019re in contention. The only way that things could get split up is that somehow the end of the race turns into a long stint. And there\u2019s a pit stop and there\u2019s a broken-up group. That\u2019s all that you can think of that would make it smaller, but you hope that you\u2019re in contention and that you\u2019re there. What are my plans for\u00a0Monday<\/span>? Hydrate from\u00a0Sunday<\/span>?<\/p>\n

\n

WELL IF YOU WIN, THERE WILL BE A FEW THINGS ON YOUR PLATE ON THAT\u00a0MONDAY<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Extra hydration.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DANICA PATRICK, NO. 7 GODADDY CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1, met with members of the media at Daytona International Speedway and discussed competing in her final Daytona 500, what she will be doing after\u00a0Sunday\u00a0is complete, her thoughts on her new team and many other topics.\u00a0 AS A FORMER POLE WINNER FOR THIS RACE AND HAVING SOME HIGHS\u2026 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nascar","category-touring-series-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22747"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22747\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22748,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22747\/revisions\/22748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}