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June 20th After a few days off, I am
reflecting back on the Watkins Glen race...
After Indy, and after the awards banquet, I rode
to The Glen race in my motorhome with my family and
Paul, it was kind of relaxing. When we got to the
Glen on wed. it was so nice out, hot but not muggy.
I thought this will be nice for the fans and the
race. I woke up the next morning, WOW what a
chance, cold and riany!
We as a team, RLR, have been really busy trying
to get ready for this race and the next week at
Texas, as we are goinjg to switch to the Dallara
Chassis for Texas. The guys are very tired, and a
bit overworked. I was trying to stay really focused
this weekend as the road races have been my trouble
area. Friday we open up with a 2-hour test session
to seperate the 2 groups, but ended up 14th, and
the split ws top 10. I was a bit disappointed the
car seemed ok. I always seem to have understeer on
all the road courses, and I lose too much time in
the slower corners, frustrating. My splits on the
faster corners are the same as everyones, we are a
bit slower in the straights, but we know that, as
we are trying to get the understeer out, by adding
front wing for the slower corners,.
We praacticed in the afternoon on Friday, the
slower group went first, I was going pretty good up
to 3-4th in the group. We made a spring change to
try and help the understeer. The change ws for the
worse, and it was too late to change the other way
so we ended up 5th in the group. After the combined
2 grups I was 15th, but I felt if we made the right
changes I could move up a few spots.
AT> MORNING as I woke up it was
raining really hard, and boy was it cold too. The
temp outside was 46, you could see your breath! We
were supposed to have a open practice in the
morning, but it was so cloudy, and overcast, the
emergency helicopter could not leave. So we could
not pracatice, it is a league rule that there must
be a helicopter operating at all times we are on
track. As afternoon qualifying was getting closer,
it was raining more too. We were going to have a
2-lap qual. session to set the field, I was hoping
for a good lap in the rain and move up into the top
10. I feel pretty good in the rain, as I was in
England for a few years racing in the rain all the
time. It was announced that the 2 lap qual. was
canceled, and we would have another practice
session, for 1 hour. They would take the 2 days
practice times, and start the race in the practice
order. The session was delayed, and I guess that
the IRL didn't have enough time to do all the
qualifications in 1 hour. Oh I almost forgot, we
did havea delay because of the legal battle in the
Grand Am series, wanting to allow a 17-year old kid
race in the series. In case your didn't know, any
IRL race weekend cannot have a minor, under
18, race on that weekend due to the PenskeMarlboro
agreement. I think someone thought they could fight
the league rule, they lost!
The practice sesion was really bad for us, as
the understeer got worse under the rain conditions,
I need slow speed grip, and we can't find it. They
combined the 2 practice session times, and we ended
up 15 still.
Race morning, still raining!! (and colder,
too)> The weather was the main topic, and
we didn't know what tires to use until race
time. I was loking at the weather, and it
looed like it may clear up. I knew the main thing
as giong to be able to SEE, with all the cars in
front of me, and the spray from the rain tires, it
is blinding. I chose to ue a smoked cisior on my
helmet, that I had been using all weekend, and it
had not fogged up yet. I had a clear shield out,
but it was not the twin thermopane style, I didn't
need any gogging in the race for sure.
The race started out on rain tires, and it was
very cold, did I say cold again? I was running
in the same position as I started, then passed
sharp for aostion. The rck was getting dry in a
places, and yingfast. On our fist pit so, I gt ew
slick tiresI think a fw pittdearly for lic and t as
working for them. Let me tell you it was darn
slippery on slicks, and very hard to drive. Las
year we had traction control, that would have
helped, but we have NO traction control this
year (saving in the motor costs they say). I
radioedback and said just, hoslippery it was, but I
was hoping for a few yellows, but Idin't want to be
the yellow. It was ryingout mornd moe, but at th
bottom of the track, in t boot (ame of the aon the
track) it was still wet. After ew more yellows
for spins, it wa o one of the retarts that Cheever
hit my RR tre as we com ntothe start straight away.
There was no room for him under me at that time,
plus it was WET below me.
I don't know what he was thinking, but never the
less I was spun out sitting on the wall looking at
my front wing all torn up. The car was running and
I was right in front of the pits, so I drove right
onto the pits. I radied that I had damage. Ray
wnated to assess the damage as I came in, and then
go back out and change it on the next lap. As I
stopped for damage control, the team through they
could change the front wing in time to keep us on
the lead lap. Well we ended up losing a lap in the
pits for repairs. I was just in a game of survival
at this point, I was just going to finish and see
where I ended up. Later in the race for another
yellow, I had cycled back to the front, and just as
the leaders pitting I stayed out, and got my lap
back on a drie around. COOL I was back in business,
I was off on my pit winodws, but with all the
yellows we had a chance. With about 12 laps to go,
I radioed in ta it was raining on the far end of
the trakc, I was in the back, so I called
"PIT FOR RAINS". We did, and the next lap
everyone else did as well, but the top 4 guys
didn't! Yellow glag again, and with only 3 laps to
go on the restart, I thought this will be wild,
lets make up a few positons, at the time I ws 10th.
ON the restart it was helter skelter, at the
bus stop area, cars every where trying to paa, I
laid back and waited for a wrecik. I was safe so I
started to pass a few guys, and moved up to 8th at
the end, heck I was right behind Helio at the end,
and he was the opole sitter. Not a bad finish, but
wihtou the spin I think we would have been on the
top 5, as that was the group I was running with
before he spin. Good solid finish for the team. It
was starting to rain more now, and it was still
cold! One week ago we were in Indy, and it was
92, now
May 28th Well, the weather was again the
story at Indy, but it wasn't about the rain, it was
HOT!! The morning of the race is always nerve
racking, and I was very, very nervous. I didn't
fall asleep very easily, but I did sleep until 7:00
am, that's late for me.
The race day schedule is very compact with many
sponsors to see, and yet we have to meet with the
team and talk about strategy. All 3 drivers, all
the engineers, and even Mr. Rahal, all sit down and
talk about all the possible ideas. We kind of knew
we would have to pit early and often so we based
our strategy on that. My engineer Ray and I decided
on running a low downforce set up, so we could keep
pace, and hopefully catch a few yellows. I knew the
car was going to have some oversteet, but I was
ready and willing to stay up front all race, no
matter what it took!
The pre-race festivities is what the Indy 500 is
all about. Unless you have been there, it is hard
to explain the experience. It is just an awesome
feeling. I don't know how anyone cannot be pumped
up just to be at the race! It was nice to see
Dave Letterman again. He is such a race fan. He
always makes you feel special. He is simply a great
guy, and funny too in real life. He even gets goose
bumps, he says, just being there! I can
honestly say that when they announce your name, and
as you walk out and hear and SEE all the fans,
yelling and cheering, it is the best minutes of
your life. It is AWESOME, and even breath taking. I
was pumped to get racing. I had a good feeling
about this race, and so did a lot of the team
members too.
As you sit there in your car, and hear Jim
Neibors sings, and see the jets, you know its time
to go racing. As we get closer to hearing "Lady and
Gentlemen, START your engines," I noticed that
everything got very calm and quiet. I had just
tuned everything out and I knew I was ready. You
will have to bear with me talking about the
pre-race. It is a lot of the 500. It really sets
the tone, and means a lot to me. Sorry about
rambling.
The race!!!
Starting where we did, 10th, I just wanted to
keep the leaders in site at the start.
GREEN flag! As I went into turn 1, the
car was not stable yet, so I had to back off. The
temps were not up yet, and I know this is a long
race with a few yellows, and I didn't want to be
that first yellow. As we settled into the race, I
was about 12 or 13th. We ran there for a few laps,
as we came up to lapped traffic, I misjudged a pass
and got passed by a few guys. I knew then that the
race was going to be harder than I thought. The
cars are so equal in straight line speed that you
need to really time your passes, and not lose
momentum. To do that, sometimes you need to back
off in the straights as you catch the slower cars,
and get a run through the corners so you are faster
in the straights. Turning was going to be
everything in passing. As we got to lap 25 or so,
the car felt really strong. I was moving up through
the field when our first pit stop was needed. Our
car setup was wearing out the right rear time
faster than others. I had about 2" of cord showing
on the first stop, and I can tell you it's not very
fun driving flat out with the white showing in your
mirror. But we had to keep up. The second set of
tires worked great with our set up. I was
flying!!! I came across the radio and told the
team "we have a chance to win this thing", and I
really thought we could at that point. I was
catching the leaders, and passing a lot of cars. I
think I was up to 5th and moving forward. I was
having so much fun, and getting my timing down. The
car was great, and I felt fine too. The heat really
was no issue to me, I was fine.
Lap 70 or so, we were just cruising and keeping
the leaders in sight. The car felt good and the
second set of tires looked really good. Next thing
I know is Ray telling me we are half way, lap 100.
I thought this race is going fast!!! Last year
when I heard we were half way, I thought, holy
crap, this is a long race. What a difference a year
makes!! I noticed that we were going to have
to pit at least 5 laps before the leaders and I was
hoping that we could catch a few yellows like last
year. I guess at this point I was in a zone. I was
able to think about all the scenarios that could
take place in the last half of the race. We were
running in the top 6-8 at this point, and we were
still on the lead lap. In fact, only 8 cars were
still on the lead lap. I guess Dan Weldon was
flying earlier in the race, lapping all but eight
cars. But I was running the same lap times as he
was then, so he couldn't catch me.
Lap 150. We knew we could only get 25 laps max
on our car set up, so we decided to run a rich fuel
mixture, which means full horse power. We can
change the setting from 1-7, depending on your
situation. Slot 1 is full rich, the fastest. Sly 7
is the leanest and slower. You can estimate about 5
hp per setting we are told. Full rich was keeping
us right there, and I was able to pass Michael and
Marco on the same lap. I was catching the
leaders!!! Ray called for a pit stop as we
came into the pits. I was hoping for no yellow
flags. But as my month has gone on yellows (read my
earlier journal) sure enough YELLOW flag. Al
Unser Jr. had hit the wall. Dammit! I had just
passed him too!! I thought we lost a lap for
sure, and we did. When I came out, we were in the
back of the pack. Then everyone pitted under
yellow, putting us right behind the pace car, and
we were going to get a wave around. YES! we
get our lap back!! (wave around means that the
pace car needs to pick up the leader of the race.
Because we were not the leader, we got to go around
the pace car and merge at the back of the pack.
BUT if you get a wave around you
CANNOT pit during that yellow. I didn't know
that until I asked to put again for fuel, as we
were the last car on the lead lap. I thought it was
a good idea but was informed of the rule by my
team. I told Ray on the radio that I should
probably just drive the car and let him handle the
race strategy decisions. On the restart, I passed
Michael and was ahead of Sam, as he pitted for fuel
only. I was in 6th and moving up. I passed Marco
again, and was right on Dario. l I knew we couldn't
go the distance, and I heard Ray call for our last
pit with 21 laps to go. Guess what??, as I entered
the pits YELLOW FLAG, dammit again! Same
scenario, I got to get my drive around and get back
on the lead lap, BUT this time I was way back,
and had many lapped cars to get around before I
could pass anyone for position. The more you drive
the Indy 500, the more you realize that this race
is based on timing of yellows, lapped cars, and a
lot of LUCK! Last year we caught all the
yellows we needed, and were lucky. This year was
not so. I was too far back to see the action of the
leaders, but I was flying and passing tons of cars.
I had just caught Dario for position, but ran out
of laps. As I got out of the car, I was really not
tired at all. I was feeling good. The heat was not
an issue to me thanks to my hubby Paul. He has me
on such an awesome work out plan that it takes that
element totally out of my thoughts and that means a
lot to a drive. Thanks honey!
I felt that this was my best race so far in my
career. I made no mistakes and the team was
flawless on pit stops. We didn't have the best or
faster car, but we were competitive. I really
leaded a lot about this race. I just wish it was
not 12 months before we can race here again. I
really need to thank my team, as we were not fast
all month, but working our tails off to get
competitive. I am proud of them all.
In ending, The Indy 500 is so special, I am
blessed to race in such a great race. I am living a
dream!
To Sam Hornish, great month Sam! You
deserved to win. You and Team Penske were the class
of the field. We grew up together racing go-karts,
and I am happy for you. Good job, and
congratulations.
As I left the track, I knew that one day I will
see my face on the Borg Warner trophy! I know
my day will come and I will fulfill my life long
dream of winning this greatest of races.
Talk to you soon, Danica
May 26th OK here is a quick update, I
have a few moments to chat with you.
I hope all of you caught some of my appearances
earlier this month. I made Cold Pizza, the Today
show, the early show, LETTERMAN, inside edition,
ESPN Hot seat, Mike and Mike, 9 donuts were
good) AND A FEW MORE. LOL I was
on my book tour "Danica Crossing the Line". It was
a book I was asked to do last summer, and I thought
it was very flattering. I didn't know that I had
such a story to tell, and after I got talking to
the author, I guess I did have a story to tell. I
hope all of you enjoy the book, and I hope I can
help someone who has any self doubt to lie your
dream. I did.
Keep an eye out for my new commercial
I made at ESPN, it was a funny one again, I
love doing those, so much fun. It should be on for
the race.
At the track. RAIN RAIN, all it did was rain the
first 2 weeks we were here - It rained 18 days in a
row hear in Indy. Our first few practice runs I
know something was different from last year, we had
an ill handling car. I asked Ray what was wrong and
he commented that we had a new compound of tires,
different from last year, they were a lot harder, I
mean a lot harder! The car was so
inconsistent, I could not keep my foot in it all
the way around, the car was sliding all over. The
car would understeer one corner, then oversteer the
next, I was really having a hard time getting up to
speed. What made it worse was the Dallara chassis,
was getting around a lot faster, as they have a lot
more downforce than the Panoz. We tried many
different set ups, and all of them where bad. I
tried keeping the guys up beat, as I knew we would
get it if we had more time, as Ray always does.
Thank goodness the Pole weekend was rained out, as
we were needing more track time. I tried to cheer
the team up on National TV with
APC sports live interview on rain pole day. My
husband Paul sent me a cow bell, as he know from
talking to me all week, we were struggling. If you
have seen the Will Farror SNL skit, with the
cow ell, you will understand what I did. I was
interviewed by Dr. Jerry Punch and he asked me what
we needed to go faster, and I pulled out my cow
bell and starting saying, "All we need is more cow
bell." I guess you had to be there.
We finally got on the track for a full day on
Friday. It has been one of those months as every
time we seem to get on the track, Boom a yellow
flag. It got to the point that I was looking for
the flag as I left the pits!!! LOL, I think we
counted at least 6 different times that it
happened. It breaks your momentum, just as you make
good gains, you sit and wait, and we were anxious
to get faster!! On the Friday before the
second weekend (pole weekend) the team worked their
BUTTS off, we made so many changes, and most
were good. I was in the car for 5 of the 6 hours we
were on track. I would like to thank the team again
for all their hard work, it felt good again on the
track. The car was getting better all the time, but
the only thing that was bothering us was we were
only getting 20 laps on a set of tires. We slip so
much we are burning the RR tires off the
cords, I have just about all my sets of tires to
the cords!!! We are hoping that the more
rubber on the track on race day will
help.
April 26th Hello all. I am finally home
from Japan. I had a great time over in the land of
the rising sun, or as I call it home of Honda. I
left for Japan on April 14th with my husband Paul.
I was going over early to help my sponsor Honda,
and the race promote the event..long plane ride,
but it was nice to sit in business class, thanks
Honda. We got there on Friday and had a day to
relax, and get used to.
The time change, it was 12 hours different for
me, so we were a bit off! We had a nice room
in downtown Tokyo, and spent the morning running
the streets I try and run at least 5 miles a day,
everyday. Honda picked us up along with Dan Weldon
and Koske Matsura, to go to a grocery
store? Go figure, and we had to race to see
who could get as close to the weight of 5 helmets
in there grocery cart. I lost, I was way off, bad
information I blame it on. LOL - we then had a
dinner to do to, and meet more sponsors. I can't
believe just how nice and welcoming the whole
country is, they are so nice!
I got to the race track on Wednesday afternoon,
checked into the track hotel. It over looks the
track and all the team owners, and drivers stay
there. It is a 1 hour bus ride to the local cities,
so its a lot easier. The weather was great too.
Next I met with Ray, my engineer, on our game plan
for the weekend. We were really good here last
year, I was excited!
Thursday we had a drivers meeting, and hoped to
get on the track. Finally! But it rained, so
everything was pushed back for a few hours. Once
the track opened around 3, they let the rookies, 3
of them, including Jeff Simmons, my new teammate
take to the track for 20 minutes to get used to it,
and I say to clean the track off! I was pre
picked to be in the first group, again! Darn
it.
At first the car seemed good, well balanced. We
made a few adjustments, and picked up a bit of over
steer. It seemed fast but really on the edge. As
the session was winding down, I was about 6th. I
stayed out until the red flag, and finished up 3rd
in our group. As you may remember me saying that
the first group always puts down rubber for the
second group, so I figured on being around 6-10th.
After the second session was over I ended up 8th,
not bad considering.
Friday came around, and it looked like a all day
rain, and sure enough it was (I couldn't even
run!) Qualifying was rained out, so I was
figuring on starting 8th, and maybe 7th because Sam
Hornish had a big wreck at the end of the second
session and would have to start in his back up.
BUT I was wrong, the second session was cut
short by 10 min, so they didn't have a equal chance
in practice, so they decided to start the race by
points, not good as I was 14th in pts. Oh well, if
my car was good I could get there in 300
miles! Waiting for qualifying to be canceled,
I went up to the Honda Collection (museum), with my
family and Paul. As you walk in there was Buddy's
500 winning car, pretty cool. I had a chat with
Robert Clarke from Honda, as he was walking around
to kill time. I learned a lot about the museum from
him. All the cars, bikes, scooters, like over 600
pieces, ALL are runners. Meaning that they all
are functional and run properly, WOW that's a lot
of work I said. Robert said that all the
collections are checked 2 times a year, and worked
on to make sure they all are running. I saw many
older F1 cars, a couple of Senna's cars, pretty
cool, and small too. They had a engine there that
was no bigger than a milk crate - a V-6 twin turbo,
used in F1 in the late 80's. The horsepower was
over 900HPs, in such a small package, it is amazing
what Honda can do I said! I got back from
the museum, and found out that they were going to
just allow final practice only, no qualifying. So I
had to get into the car for open practice. Well
with no qualifying, we started with a race set up,
full tanks. The car had major under steer, as we
over corrected from Thursday. I cranked a bunchy of
cross weight into the care and it got better, but
this was with full tanks too, so we didn't really
know what it was like on low fuel, so we stayed out
to get a read on low fuel. It got much better, but
the tires were now old. So we put on new tires and
filled up again, not good - we had too much under
steer, and ended up 18th over all, not really very
fast either. I hoped Ray could work some of his
magic for the race.
Saturday, race day. It looked like a nice clear
day, and it was, but cold! The track is on top
of a mountain, actually 3 of them. The crowds were
getting big and many in the pit area, I had a hard
time walking to the garage. The fans get
SO EXCISED to see us! We had
meetings with Ray and the team, on a game plan. We
wanted to let the field string out, and start to
pick them off 1q by 1. The race started on time,
but was colder than we had seen before. I had a
good start, and got by Enge on the first lap. I
just waited and started to gain positions one by
one. I was up to 10th before the first pit stop, I
was hoping to keep moving up, the car seemed ok,
better than the others I had passed. After the stop
I kept moving up, to 7th place, almost half way
into the race. I was looking forward to getting in
the lead group. I was running the same lap times as
the leaders. I pitted and over shot it a bit, lost
a few seconds, darn it. As I got going again, the
car turned way bad. I had really had under steer, I
was maxed out on my weight jackers, so all I could
do was ride it out. I pitted the last time with 30
laps left hoping to get a better set of tires, but
nope they were off to, I was just hanging on. On
the last restart, I was hoping to pass a few more I
got a good jump and was about to pass a few cars,
when a car chopped me really bad and I had to lift
way off and downshift into 3rd gear, or crash. I
chose to finish. I tried to pass Koske for 7th but
ran out of time. I finished 8th, not what I was
looking for, but it is a finish I guess they
say.
We had a bus ride back to Tokyo after the race,
with many fun people, that's all I can say;)
I got back to LA on Monday, and all of us
drivers had to go to Honda USA in LA for a
appearance. Glad to be home on Tuesday night, time
for some R and R. Keep looking on my site as I am
off to New York for my new book tour. Hope you
watch the TV and send me your input!
Talk to you soon, from INDY!
April 6th Hello everyone. Well the
weekend ended well, but it took a lot to get there
again. I go to St. Pete on Tuesday night, after the
test in Homestead. I had a pre-race media deal at
the Hardrock Hotel/Casino scheduled on wed. night,
so we checked in to get ready. We where helping the
promoter Andretti/Green and Honda promote the race
with an autograph session. What a great place to
stay, the people were so nice, hotel was
awesome!! I just wanted to thank the people at
the Hardrock, and AGR, and the great fans for there
hospitality, the people were so nice.
Friday we had an open practice in the morning,
the track was really slippery, like ice
almost!! I had a few issues with braking,
the rear of the car was really loose on entry, so
it was really hard to push under braking. Braking
is where you can lose or gain seconds, I was
losing!! I fought it all session, so I ended
up 14th in the group practice. hat means we were
going to be in the first group all weekend. They
split the groups by the fastest 10 going second and
the slowest going out first the rest of the
weekend. The first group just adds rubber the
second group, which is always the fastest anyway,
so I knew we were going to be seconds off from the
fast/second group. Ray came up with the braking
solution, and it really settled the car down, so in
the second practice, I picked up 0.700 on the
faster guys, so I felt a lot better. Street courses
are so much different for us to run on as we only
do it 1 time a year, and a lot of my competitors
are street course experts, like Dario, he is SO
tough on street courses, all I wanted to do was get
within 1 second of him for the weekend, that would
be an accomplishment for me.
Saturday, the morning session, went well, as we
worked on our qualifying setups. I had a lot of
understeer most of the session, so we worked on
that a lot. Qualifying on Saturday, I felt I left
some on the table, as we only get 1 LAP to
qualify!! So in turns you always seem to be a
bit cautious, but I ended up 14th again. My best
start on the road/street courses.
Sunday morning warm up went well, as I got
hooked up with the faster guys, Dario seemed to
wait for me and show me around,
WOW I learned a lot following him, he is
SO fast and aggressive. I went from P14 to P9
in a few laps, and ended up 10th in the warm
up!!
The race started really late in the afternoon,
like 3:45. It was really hot out as well.
I think it was in the 90's. All I wanted to do
was finish the race and get 100 laps of practice
in, as I called it. at the star. I wanted to follow
Dan Wheldon, he started next to me. I did that for
a few laps, and after maybe 15 laps, felt my tires
get really hot and very slippery!! I radioed into
Ray that I felt like I was on ICE. He assured me
that the tire pressures were high and the next set
would fix the problem. Where was the caution,
I was thinking??? It was an all green 1st
stint. I got my new tires on, buy that was
better!! I think the first yellow came out
after like 50 laps, so I was only in tires 15 laps
old. Ray told me we were only going to do 2 stops,
and he was right. Everyone in the lead group pitted
on lap 55 I think. I stayed out, and so did
Buddy and Herta, so I was in 3rd, hoping to get
track position. I fell back to 5th on the start, as
my tires were not as good as the new ones the
leaders just got. I stayed there for like 20
laps. We pitted for the second and last time with
50 laps to go. I knew the leaders had to pit so I
was hoping for an all green finish. I was running
9th with 10 laps to go and I knew at least 2 other
people had to pit, so I was going to finished at
least 7-8th. Then right in front of me, about 7
seconds ahead, Buddy and Scheckter crasher! I
ended up finishing 6th! I was really happy
with that, that was my goal to finish, and learn,
and that's what we did...Mission accomplished!!
I had a media day on Tuesday in Indianapolis,
all the national media were there for the Final 4
game. I had media starting at 9am going through
5:45pm. Many chances of clothes, suit on and off,
dress clothes, casual, all in one day. I did a
photo shoot for People Magazine, that was cool, so
look for me in there soon!!
Wednesday, Indianapolis, I was back on the track
where "Danica-Mania" started, my favorite track
INDY, for an open test. COLD in the morning,
it was brisk, like 39. We waited to go out until
the track was warmer. The league will not allow
anyone on the speedway until the surface temp is at
least 55 degrees, that's the rule! I finally got
out and did a few laps, what a fun place to run, I
was flat on the 3rd lap, it just felt really good.
We made a few runs and decided to trim out the car
some. The car was close to perfect. We are down
horsepower from last year, so we hoped to run in
the low 220's, but man, some cars got there quick.
We finished the day 4th overall, 223.789, I was
happy, and I knew mine was on a clean lap, no tow.
WHAT a cool place. Well I am off, ready to get
home, and its been 2 weeks since I have seen
home.
Next up, JAPAN. My second favorite track, great
people to, real race fans!!
Talk to you soon, and if you get time, please
check out my new on-line
store. It's up and running.
Danica
March 27, 2006 I'm sure you've heard of
the horrible news of Sunday, where my teammate Paul
Dana was sent to a better place. I am dealing with
this well, we all know (us drivers) that this may
happen anytime we suit up and strap in. Please
don't feel sorry for Paul Dana, he was doing what
he LOVED doing, just like I am. Does it scare
us - HECK yes, but we deal with it because of
the love we have for this sport, and we know that
not everyone can do this. I guess that's what makes
us different. I just worry about my family, but
they have assured me that they understand this is
what I love doing, and that I would be unhappy if I
was not racing. Life is not worth being unhappy, so
please chase your dreams, like Paul Dana!!!
PLEASE say a prayer for Paul Dana's family
and his wife Tony.
WOW that was not easy, but let's get to updating
you on the weekend. Friday, we tested for the first
time on race setups. During the off-season tests we
test ALTO of different things and put them all
together for the race. With the NEW rules changes
this year on the super-speedways, we were a little
lost. The changes give us LESS down force, AND
harder tires (less grip)!! The car was a handful
the first few sessions, I had both understeer and
understeer from run to run!! We worked really
really hard on many changes, some better some
worse. I was a bit frustrated, and we ended up
14th, not good. My teammates were right there with
me too. My engineer Ray Alto, and I worked long
hours on finding something that would be
comfortable, I was sure Ray would figure it
out.
Saturday morning, work up to the singing of
Happy Birthday, it was MY birthday, turned 24,
wow seems like only a couple of years ago I was
getting my drivers license!!!! I went out for
the first practice session, early in the morning,
about 110 am. The car felt better, I was a little
more confident, I could keep up with cars, whereas
Friday I was Soloed. We made a few spring
changes and trim level adjustments, which Ray had
set up, and it got better. Then we tried a ride
height change, 2 flats in the rear, and 1 flat in
the front (flats are the flat side of the hut on
the push rod, ride height. Each flat is .040 (..040
thousands). That helped a lot, and we ended up 8th
in the sessions, lots better!!
Qualifying was late on Saturday, I was one of
the first few cards out, 5th. I was pretty
confident in the car, but I knew I had to be
flat out both laps. The car felt really good, had
small understeer coming out of turn 4 on the first
timed lap so I made a roll bar adjustment for the
second lap, and to my surprise I was POLE!! I
watched as 10 other drivers try to beat my time of
about 216.972 MPH. I knew the Pensive cars would be
faster, but I was glad I was faster than the
Gainsay and Andretti Green cars too. The Pensive
cars both were faster, shoot, so I ended up 3rd in
qualifying. I was really proud of my team, and
engineers, we came a LONG way from Friday's
test. Race setup was going to be close to
what we qualified with, so I was hoping for a good
finish.
Sunday morning practice, the car was really good
in the first 2 laps. I was on my 3rd lap and as I
entered turn 1, I saw a car in the wall so I backed
off and my spotter Eric called "go low". I made
sure he was not going to slide down the track into
me. Once I was sure I could clear him I hit
the gas and passed him. I just missed the crash by
a few seconds.
With the news happening before the race, my team
owner and friend Bobby Racal decided to pull our
cars from the starting field in respect to Paul
Dana. I watched the race in my motor coach with my
family, it was a really LONG day. I would
rather drive the cars than watch it on TV,
WOW is the racing close or what!!!
I would rather not talk about the crash. I am
looking forward, just as I think Paul would have
liked. God Speed Paul, we will miss you....now off
to St. Pete!
March 25, 2006 -  Danica
March 9, 2006 - Well, I just got home
from a long test, and Media tour. It all started on
the 27th of Feb. I was in Caliph doing a new
commercial for Secret, it was a lot of fun, and I
think everyone will like the humor of it. The
commercial is supposed to be out in April, so keep
a look out for it...
March 2, 2006 - Drivers meeting at 8:15
AM. We were introduced to the NEW TV crew
and went over new rules. The head of the
TV package is the same guy who did
ESPN Sport Center for the last 18
years! ABC/ESPN also hired a lot of
TV crew from NBC as well, so it was all very
positive to us drivers that the IRR is really
trying to get us out there to the main stream
public. Gene Simians was there as well letting us
know that he plans to lead us to the mainstream as
well, he's very upbeat and excited about the year,
and has some Great Ideas. I like him a lot.
March 1, 2006 - On Wed, March 1st, I flew
to Miami for a 3 day test called "spring training",
all the teams go to get everything hopefully ironed
out with the new rules and new team members. Plus
there is a full Media day for the seasons photo
op's for TV and interviews with new TV
personnel.
February 5, 2006 - Well, my official race
season started with the 24-hours of Daytona. I
received a call from Rusty Wallace asking me if I
would like to run in the 24 hour race with him. I
was very flattered and jumped at the opportunity.
The 24-Hours is such a nostalgic race, and there is
always tons of good drivers to gauge myself on, so
I accepted.
We tested in the 24-hours official test the
first week in Jan. and it was nice to get into a
race car again, after being off for a few months,
you realize just how much you miss the competition.
Thanks to the Howard-Boss (Crawford Racing) race
team. The team had such a great driver lineup and
the team drivers (Butch Leitzinger and Andy
Wallace) were so helpful and made the transition
from open-wheel car to close-top car pretty easy.
After figuring out the brake points, we were up to
speed.
The week before the 24-hours race, I had a two
day test at the Phoenix Raceway in my Indy Car. WOW
it was fun to get going again in MY race car,
the test went fairly well, my lap times where
quicker than last year, but I am always looking for
more SPEED. We tested for 2 days, which at Phoenix
is tough, after the 2nd day, a few of the other
IRL drivers and I took a private plane to
Daytona, because we all had to be there in the
morning for the driver's meeting at 8:30 AM.
The Daytona 24-hours race is very unique, as you
usually have 304 drivers in the same car. I was
glad to see that my other two teammates where short
like me (Rusty is 6' tall, I am 5'2"). The other
teammates where Alan McNich, a former F1 driver,
and was the one guy who did ALL the testing for the
Toyota F1 startup team, so needless to say, he is
very good, one of the best racers in the world
right now. My other teammates was Jan Lammers, who
also was a former F1 racer, who now owns the A 1
Netherlands Team. Both were not a lot taller than I
am so that helped.
The team we drove for was Howard-Boss Racing,
which is run by Crawford Pacing, with the head guy
being Max Crawford, a true honest, straight up guy,
one of the few. His wife Jan is the one who does
all the behind the scenes work that no one realizes
until it goes wrong. She was so sweet to me, great
lady. The team owner Rick Howard is one of the most
genuine guys I have ever met, if you have ever
met some one that you feel you have know for years,
the first time you meet, THAT'S Rick just a
great person.
The race started out good, as Jan took the green
flag (as he has maybe 24 times before) after
starting out 18th (only because we had our race
setup on, where others had on special qualifying
brakes, gears, setups). Jan moved up to 7-8th place
before Alan got in the car. Alan after 1 hour was
up in the top 5. Rusty got in the car on the 3rd
hour, had a few problems and played it safe, but
dropped back to 3rd. I finally got in the car in
the 4th hour, (each car can only go maybe 1 hour
before it needs fuel and tires) during a
caution period, so I had time to set the mirrors
and other stuff at a slower pace. At the green
flag, I passed a few cars and settled into a
pace.
You have a lap timer on your steering wheel so
you know what your lap times are as you are in the
car. I know that our fastest lap as a 1:46:640 set
by Jan in the first stint, so that was what I
wanted my gauge to stay around. I found once I
cleared traffic I was running a 1:47:00. It was a
great confidence booster to know that you can race
as fast as anyone in the world. Both Alan and Jan
are highly respected in the entire road racing
world and to know that comparing apples to apples
you are there.
After my 1 hour in the car, we had moved up to
6th, so I feel I had a good stint for my first time
at the 24-hours of Daytona. Jan got back in the car
for his 2nd hour stint, he was running 3-4th the
whole way. Alan got back in the car and got up to
running in the top-3, I think he even led a few
laps too. Rusty got back in for his 2 hours, and as
he got on the track he noticed that the car felt
funny, the RR tire was loose so he had to pit. We
lost the lead group, but hell this is a 24-hour
race, no worries, we knew everyone was going to
have trouble at some time or another. After only 1
hour in the car the team noticed that the car was
over heating. Dammit we had to pit.
Being there we were when we pitted, the team
decided to put me back in the car, for my 2 hours.
Well the car had a few RED lights going off as
I left the pits, so I knew we had a problem, so I
pitted behind the wall to fix the problem. It took
a while, as the team worked their asses off trying
to fix the problems, but it ended up being
terminal, as we call it. A blown head gasket ended
our race.
I had such a great time, and it really boosted
my confidence. I met some really special people
that I hope can do this race again next year with.
I would like to thank Rusty Wallace, for showing me
that even though you may be a BIG star you can
still be nice to all people, he's a great person.
Thanks to the Grand Am Series for all of your help,
including the France family. Thanks to the Team,
Howard-Boss and Crawford Racing. Thanks to all
of the guys on the team who work their asses off
all the time! I would also like to thank
Team Rahal/Letterman for allowing me to do this
race.
Next stop for me will be a 3-4 day test in March
at Homestead.
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