Will a More Patient Patrick Find Success at Indy?

INDIANAPOLIS, May 22 -- Danica Patrick's fifth May here has been considerably more relaxed than the previous four.

She has done fewer photo shoots, spent less time making rounds on the morning show circuit, limited her sponsor-related functions and toned down her volatile temper.

All that, Patrick said, has helped her focus on her ultimate goal: to become the first woman to win the Indianapolis 500.

"I'm fortunate that I'm a popular enough driver that I don't have to make the most of every single opportunity during the month anymore," said Patrick, IndyCar's most recognized driver. "I've not felt so empty, so tugged and pulled at the whole time. I have had years where I've felt like that, especially the first year when I lost it."

The scaled-back schedule has let Patrick get away from the track when she has wanted to go shopping, get a pedicure, or in her words, do "things girls do." But, more important, it's allowed her to spend more time in the garage, working closely with her pit crew fine-tuning the black and orange No. 7 car her legion of fans will cheer so fervently Sunday.

Patrick will start 10th, on the inside of the fourth row. It's not the fastest car she has had here -- that distinction, she said, belongs to the one she piloted to a historic fourth-place finish as a rookie five years ago -- but it has the potential to run up front.

But a fast car isn't the only thing that's important on the narrow, flat 2.5-mile oval here at the venerable Brickyard. Patience and good fortune matter almost as much, she said. Whether she displays the patience it takes to stay out of trouble early and put herself in prime position late, well, that's entirely up to the driver.

"This race is 500 miles," Patrick said. "You don't have to pass everyone right away. There's plenty of time for things to go down and happen."

But Patrick can't control whether she has good fortune, as last year's race so cruelly reminded her. While exiting her pit stall with 29 laps remaining, Patrick collided with Ryan Briscoe's car.

What happened next might have been the most memorable moment of the afternoon. Patrick popped out of her car, then stormed down pit lane toward Briscoe's pit stall. But a confrontation never materialized; she was headed off by track security.

Patrick's reaction was predictable considering her well-known volatile temperament. Through the years, she has been caught by cameras stomping her feet in disgust and pounding her steering wheel in frustration, and overheard on her radio complaining about an ill-handling car.

But there's been less of that this month, which is something else that's been different for Patrick.