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Danica Patrick on Record Rookie Pace
Danica Patrick knows she still has a lot to learn to be a championship-contending driver in the IRL IndyCar® Series. But eight races into her rookie season, she says she is deserving of high marks.
“I'd have to give myself a pretty darn good grade,” the 23-year-old from Roscoe, Ill., said. “I think I've adapted well to the situations. I feel comfortable in traffic more and more all the time. The only times I feel uncomfortable is when the car is off. That's normal. Everybody's going to feel like that.”
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Despite driving in two oval race prior to joining the IndyCar series, Patrick has reason to feel confident about her results in the No. 16 Rahal Letterman Racing Argent Pioneer Honda-powered Panoz. Her two fourth-place finishes and four top-10 finishes have eclipsed the results of several rookies who went on to win Bombardier Rookie of the Year, including reigning rookie titlist Kosuke Matsuura. She’s also led the most lap of any rookie since Tomas Scheckter in 2002. Patrick’s season is on par with the season of another former top rookie, current IndyCar Series point leader Dan Wheldon, who followed up his 2003 Rookie of the Year campaign with a breakout season in 2004. Wheldon claimed the first of his seven wins to date in his 19th start. At Kansas Speedway, Patrick became the fourth IndyCar Series rookie to win a pole position when she won the Marlboro Pole Award for the Argent Mortgage Indy 300. It was the first pole position for a rookie since Vitor Meira won the pole at Texas Motor Speedway in October 2002. Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Johnny Rutherford, who serves as a driver coach and pace car driver for the IRL, said Patrick has all the tools needed to be a winning race car driver. "She has excellent hand-eye coordination. She proved that at Indy when she saved the car a couple times in dangerous situations,” Rutherford told reporters earlier this year. “She has that look in her eyes. That's the thing that jumps out at you. It's that little extra spark; that passion for racing that you look for in a winner." Winning, though, has proven to be tough for rookies in the IndyCar Series, especially lately. Just three true rookies have won in their maiden season in the series, and two of the wins, Buzz Calkins’ win at Walt Disney World in 1996 and Jim Guthrie’s win at Phoenix in 1997, were claimed during the series’ infancy. The last rookie to win a race was Scheckter at Michigan Speedway in July 2002. That doesn’t mean that young drivers can’t succeed early on. Sam Hornish Jr. and Tony Stewart claimed victories in their ninth and 10th starts, respectively, after slow starts to their careers. Patrick is confident she can emulate those results. “We've worked well as a team. We've almost had pole at two races, I think, then finally got one. I think that's great. I think that my driving is becoming much more precise and much more calculated. I feel like I'm maturing pretty well as a driver. “I think when the car is right, I can do a pretty good job,” Patrick said. “I think I'm doing a good job. I think if I wasn't, people would be telling me.” How Danica Patrick compares to other IndyCar Series drivers in their first year of competition. Driver | Year | Age | Starts | Best Start | Best Finish | Wins | Top 5s | Top 10s | Laps Led | First win | | Danica Patrick | 2005 | 23 | 8 | 1st | 4th | 0 | 2 | 4 | 51 | -- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Bombardier Rookie of the Year | | | | | | | | | | | Kosuke Matsuura | 2004 | 25 | 16 | 4th | 4th | 0 | 1 | 4 | 11 | -- | | Dan Wheldon | 2003 | 25 | 14 | 4th | 3rd | 0 | 5 | 9 | 33 | Motegi, 19th start | Laurent Redon | 2002 | 29 | 15 | 4th | 3rd | 0 | 1 | 3 | 39 | -- | | Felipe Giaffone | 2001 | 26 | 13 | 4th | 2nd | 0 | 3 | 10 | 51 | Kentucky, 25th start | Airton Dare | 2000 | 22 | 9 | 10th | 2nd | 0 | 1 | 2 | 13 | Kansas, 31st start | Scott Harrington | 1999 | 35 | 8 | 4th | 5th | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | -- | | Robby Unser | 1998 | 30 | 8 | 13th | 2nd | 0 | 2 | 3 | 22 | -- | | Jim Guthrie | 1996-97 | 36 | 9 | 2nd | 1st | 1 | 2 | 3 | 89 | Phoenix, 6th start | | | | | | | | | | | | | Other Notable Rookies | | | | | | | | | | | Tomas Scheckter | 2002 | 21 | 12 | 1st | 1st | 1 | 2 | 3 | 443 | Michigan, 11th start | Buddy Rice | 2002 | 26 | 5 | 2nd | 2nd | 0 | 2 | 4 | 37 | Indianapolis, 29th start | Sam Hornish Jr. | 2000 | 21 | 8 | 13th | 3rd | 0 | 1 | 2 | 38 | Phoenix, 9th start | Sarah Fisher | 2000 | 20 | 8 | 4th | 3rd | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | Won pole in 34th start | Kenny Brack | 1997 | 31 | 7 | 3rd | 5th | 0 | 2 | 2 | 39 | Charlotte, 14th start | Tony Stewart | 1996 | 25 | 3 | 1st | 2nd | 0 | 1 | 1 | 92 | Pikes Peak, 10th start | Buzz Calkins | 1996 | 25 | 3 | 5th | 1st | 1 | 1 | 2 | 130 | Disney World, 1st start | | | | | | | | | | | | | After eight starts | Best Start | Best Finish | Wins | Top 5s | Top 10s | Laps Led | Notable | | | | | Tony Kanaan | 1st | 1st | 1 | 6 | 6 | 212 | Veteran of Indy-style racing who won third IndyCar Series start at Phoenix | Scott Dixon | 1st | 1st | 3 | 3 | 5 | 524 | Veteran of Indy-style racing who won first start at Homestead-Miami | Helio Castroneves | 1st | 1st | 3 | 7 | 7 | 202 | Veteran of Indy-style racing who won two of first four starts in IndyCar Series | Dario Franchitti | 3rd | 4th | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | Veteran of Indy-style racing who won first pole in ninth start and first race in 13th start | Scott Sharp | 1st | 1st | 1 | 3 | 4 | 62 | Veteran of Indy-style racing who won in fourth start at New Hampshire | Vitor Meira | 1st | 3rd | 0 | 1 | 3 | 8 | Won pole in third start; Yet to win in IndyCar Series | Alex Barron | 10th | 4th | 0 | 1 | 5 | 7 | Veteran of Indy-style racing who won 11th start at Nashville |
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