Full Throttle

… Danica’s eyes are cast in a future direction:

Danica us hoping to test her skills in Formula One, admitting that she would relish a “proper” test with one of the teams.

“Every driver would love to drive a Formula One car at some point in their life, so yeah,” she told Autosport.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a real, proper test.

“I was asked to do a demonstration lap at Indy in 2005, and I said, ‘No way. You’re making me a show. That’s embarrassing.’ But I would say that a real test is absolutely something I would do.”

And one team who would welcome her testing with them is Honda. “We haven’t instigated anything, but if Danica wanted to be a test driver then we’d be more than happy to talk about it,” Honda CEO Nick Fry said.

Meanwhile in that other racing series, the one with beer swilling, double-wide living, necks of red having fans and cars with tin-tops one, Patty Moise has some very… very sage advice for those trying to break into NASCAR.

Technorati Tags: Formula One, Nick Fry, Danica Patrick, Danica-mania, F1, IRL, IndyCar, Indy 500, Honda

I’m sure this will come over the objections of the NASCAR media who have slobbered all over themselves at the thought of a Tin-Top version of Danica-mania but, it ain’t happening!

Danica told the Daily Star: “First I want to contend for the IndyCar championship and then we’ll see what opportunities arise.”

“During my three years in England, I followed F1 closely and became dead set on racing in it,” she recalled.

“F1 is regarded as the highest level of racing with the best drivers in the world and it’s very flattering to have that as an opportunity,” Patrick added.

Now, all you ink-stained wretches that follow the NASCAR circus put down your pens, your mice (mouses?) and that “thing” you call your manhood and get back to writing something that approximates reality.

As a sidenote, anyone except me think it’s more than a happy coincidence that the Indy event is scheduled to start approximately around the time NASCAR’s Talladega event should be complete?

MeThinks Tony G is wearing a suit of hen feathers.

Technorati Tags: IndyCar Series, Danica, Danica Patrick, F1, Formula One, IRL

Danica Patrick used a fuel gamble to take a historic victory in the delayed Twin-Ring Motegi round of the IndyCar Series.

The Andretti Green Racing driver took the lead with just two laps to go as the rest of the front-runners had to pit for fuel and became the first woman to win a major American open-wheel race.

Patrick had run towards the foot of the top ten for most of the race, as Ganassi’s Scott Dixon and Penske’s Helio Castroneves dominated the event.

AGR’s decision to bring Patrick in for an additional sip fuel at the end of the final full course yellow paid off spectacularly, allowing her to take a remarkable last gasp victory and leave the “Kournikova of IndyCar” label behind.

Castroneves led the first half of the race, before being leap-frogged by Dixon during the mid-race pitstops. The Ganassi driver then pulled away from the field - leading by as much as six seconds - and looked set for victory until having to pit from the lead with six laps to go.

Fellow leaders Dan Wheldon, Tony Kanaan and Castroneves then had to follow suit, allowing Patrick to come through and snatch the win. Castroneves and Dixon completed the podium.

(You know it’s a good day when a legit reason to post a Danica pic drops into your lap - ed)

Quotes later…

“It was a long time coming, finally,” said Patrick, who drives for Andretti Green Racing. “I was managing to save fuel and keep the speed up and, when I saw Helio, I knew he was the one to beat.”

“I knew there was a good reason for coming to Japan,” she said. “I want to thank my team, the fans and everyone who supported me.”

Dixon took the lead from Castroneves on the 93rd lap, but he settled for third.

“We led for a lot of laps but came up short,” Dixon said. “But congratulations to Danica for her first victory.”

Technorati Tags: Danica Patrick, AGR, Andretti Green Racing, Tony Kanaan, Helio Castroneves, IndyCar, Twin Ring Motegi, Japan