Rahal Letterman racer strong in practice
source:
irl.racing-live.com
Danica Patrick opened the first week of practice for
the 89th Indianapolis 500 by setting fast time on each of the first two days of
practice. However, that was with only a handful of rookies turning laps during
the Rookie Orientation Program.
On Thursday Patrick showed the big boys of the IndyCar Series and US open wheel
racing just how fearless a 23-year-old young lady can be, setting the fast time
of the month on a day when 37 cars turned laps around the 2.5 mile oval.
"Five years ago I didn't envision coming to Indianapolis for the first time and
being one of the fastest cars during the week leading up to qualifying," Patrick
said. "Knowing now whom I drive for and the quality of this team and with the
success we had a Motegi, I did come here thinking there was realistic chance we
would be pretty fast. Driving for a good team will bring out the best in you as
a driver."
Patrick said the team started the week of practice just trying to get the car
fast before trimming it out for speed. "We have a pretty good balance and then
once we trimmed out we made sure the balance stayed the same and we just worked
on freeing it up a little bit. Personally, I have really worked on my line and
just trying to get everything perfect," Patrick said.
Patrick turned a lap at 227.633 miles per hour in her Rahal Letterman Racing
Honda powered Panoz, topping a speed of 227.525 set by Andretti Green Racing's
Tony Kanaan, in a Honda powered Dallara.