Danica not focused on honors
DETROIT — As Danica Patrick prepared for her farewell to auto racing at this weekend’s Indianapolis 500, another big event on the motorsports calendar was in the spotlight: the vote for the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Jeff Gordon headlined the 2019 class announced Wednesday, but as Patrick’s retirement approaches, her own candidacy for such an honor has become an interesting topic.
Patrick’s last laps will be run Sunday for Ed Carpenter Racing, and the organization’s namesake owner-driver — who will start in the pole position at Indianapolis Motor Speedway — was asked if she should receive Hall of Fame consideration.
“I think so, yeah,” Carpenter said. “She definitely broke down barriers. She’s done a ton of good for the sport of racing, both in IndyCar and in NASCAR. She’s a fierce competitor. I’ve raced against her for a long time, and she’s earned her place just like the rest of us. She’s had her success, she’s taken her lumps, just like the rest of us.
“But she’s definitely left a very good legacy and has done far more good for racing than a lot of drivers have.”
Carpenter wasn’t asked which Hall of Fame might honor Patrick, whose career has spanned both open-wheel and stock-car racing. She is the only woman to lead laps in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500. She won the pole for the Daytona 500 in 2013 and won an IndyCar race in 2008.
But that was her lone IndyCar win, and she never had a top-five finish in NASCAR. She competed regularly in IndyCar from 2005 to 2011, and she began running some races in NASCAR’s second-tier national series in 2010 before competing in top-tier Cup Series races in 2012. She became a full-time Cup Series driver in 2013.
Patrick seemed surprised Tuesday in New York — she was there for the reveal of a Lego statue of herself in Times Square — when asked about possible Hall of Fame honors.
“I don’t know, I think that anything I have accomplished as a statistic or something to be honored for, whatever, they are things that if they happen, they are great, but they were not my goal,” she said. “Any record I have I didn’t really know until after. Those things either happen or they don’t; all those kinds of things I don’t plan on.
“I am not really thinking about that, anything like that, though it is quite the honor.”
Patrick finished third in the Indy 500 in 2009, and she led 19 laps in the race as a rookie in 2005. She qualified seventh for this weekend’s race.
“I think she’s the best female there ever was, right? You’ve got to give her credit for what she’s done,” 2016 IndyCar season champion Simon Pagenaud said. “Quite frankly, this month, she’s done tremendous. She’s calm, collected, she hasn’t made a mistake with the car. She’s done her job so far. She was the only woman in NASCAR. She’s the only woman to win an IndyCar race. You’ve got to respect that.”
Patrick is set for another breakthrough this summer. Late Tuesday night, ESPN announced she will be the first woman to host its annual awards show, the ESPYs. This year’s ceremony is July 18 in Los Angeles.
“She’s definitely left a very good legacy and has done far more good for racing than a lot of drivers have.” – ED CARPENTER, ED CARPENTER RACING