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For Patrick, Historic Win Only Raises Expectations
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All of the attention is nothing new for Patrick, who through the years has graced the covers of several national magazines, including Sports Illustrated last week. But it's definitely been intensified the past four weeks.
Patrick's popularity is on display everywhere in Indianapolis. On Wednesday, fans lined up in the plaza adjacent to the garage to get autographs from their favorite drivers.
There were three lines for Patrick, one of which snaked its way across the plaza, extending several hundred feet. Fifty feet away, a dozen or so fans waited for autographs from drivers Davey Hamilton and Jeff Simmons.
Patrick arrived fashionably late, emerging from behind a tinted glass door wearing dark sunglasses. She smiled and waved to her legion of fans, a diverse group that included young girls, teenage boys, middle-age men and their wives.
She was greeted with an enthusiastic round of applause and screams of "Danica!"
"If she attracts more attention, I think it's obvious why," Kanaan said. "Some guys get jealous. But it's reality. She's big. She's good for the sport."
Then he cracked, "I want her to bring fans [so] I can steal them from her."
Securing a victory Sunday would not only benefit Patrick, it would also be a boon for the IndyCar Series, which appears to be on the rebound since reunifying with ChampCar in February. Sunday's race will mark the first time all of America's top open-wheel teams will compete at the Brickyard since 1995.
"Indy defines every racer's career," said Terry Angstadt, president of IndyCar's commercial division. "It's our biggest stage, in front of a worldwide audience. To have a female win, that would be absolutely massive for us."
Patrick's victory last month is proof of how closely the circuit's success is linked to her own. Television ratings for IndyCar's race in Kansas the following week improved 173 percent from last year. Patrick's merchandise sales also surpassed $100,000 in Kansas, and are up 700 percent over last year's figures, according to the league.
The win hasn't changed Patrick's approach on the track, she said.
"I'm not any different as a driver," Patrick said. "I don't feel any different. I'm not any more or less nervous. What it does change is the outside [perception] and the media, and endorsements and sponsorships and fan attention."
But the attention Patrick is getting now is nothing compared with what would await her if she wins Sunday.
"The things I imagine are Victory Lane and drinking the milk and the whole extravaganza right afterwards," Patrick said when asked if she has daydreamed about winning the 500. "There's no way to tell how big it will be or what exactly will come as a result. It has to happen first."
