Danica Patrick, Andretti Green Racing, San Diego, New York, Las Vegas, SEMA, Hideki Mutoh, Helio Castroneves, Dancing with the Stars
testing for Firestone. But I’m sure we’ll still have
plenty to do as there are always appearances to
make. We never seem to run out of those!
October 24
I started out this week by traveling to San
Diego for what was a pretty normal sponsor
appearance, but there was nothing normal
about San Diego on this trip.
Most of San Diego County was on fire, and as
I flew in I could see how bad it was. I can‘t
imagine what it would be like to go through what
the people of Southern California are going
through at this time. My heart goes out to them.
It’s just a terrible situation. The wind is so
strong, and the conditions are so dry. It must
be such a helpless feeling for the people
involved. I feel so bad for everyone.
I know this for sure: Firefighters are truly
American heroes. They put their lives on the
line, and to watch how they fought these fires
is truly inspiring. They are so courageous, and
their hard work helped to stop the fires.
San Diego is one of my favorite places to
visit. It is a really beautiful place, and to watch
what is going on there is unbelievable.
Please keep everybody in your thoughts as
they recover from this disaster.
October 30
It’s been a busy week for me, with appearances
on both sides of the country. I spent a couple
days in New York last week with one of my
Danica at the
DownForce Fan
Club party on
Sept. 20 (top)
and back at work
with Tony
Kanaan for
testing at Barber
Danica speeds out
of the pits at
Chicago, about to
complete her final
race laps of the
year and begin the
off-season
Chris Jones/IMS Phoro
Paul Webb
Chris Jones/IMS Phoro
“It’s been
too long.
I’d drive
every day
if I could”
Danica Patrick
personal sponsors, then headed to Las Vegas for
the SEMA Show. SEMA is the Specialty
Equipment Marketing Association and the show
is huge – in fact, it’s the biggest automotiverelated
show in the world.
A couple of our team’s sponsors make cool
products for the automotive industry, so I went
to SEMA to help promote them. It is such a
busy trade show, and it’s very important for our
team and sponsors.
AGR announced my new teammate – Hideki
Mutoh. I don’t really know Hideki yet, but I’m
aware of how good he was in the Indy Pro Series.
Many people think he is the most talented
IndyCar Series driver to come out ofJapan, so I’m
anxious to see how he’ll do in the No. 27 car.
November 7
I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I think I
am finished with all of my appearances – at
least for the rest of this month!
It should be a fun time of year, especially
since I’ll have a little bit of time to myself. My
wedding anniversary is this month, and so is
Thanksgiving. It’ll be great to be able to spend
some real quality time with the people who are
closest to me and support me so much during
the racing season.
Believe me, they are my biggest cheering
section all season long, so it’s nice to be able to
just hang out with everyone and have fun. I’m
really looking forward to this.
November 20
I hope you’re enjoying your holiday and are
able to spend some time with your family and
friends. That’s how I am spending my week,
and it has been wonderful.
If the goal at Thanksgiving is to eat as much
as you can and take as many naps as possible,
then I am overachieving. I’ll work out extra
hard next week to make up for it.
Novemeber 28
I hope you’re having a good week and are getting
back into the swing of things after the holiday.
I’ve had a pretty quiet week and am getting
geared up for our test next week at
Homestead-Miami Speedway. We’re going to
be doing some tire testing for Firestone on the
road course and on the oval. It’s very
important and I’m really looking forward to it.
I haven’t had the chance to drive since we
tested in Alabama a couple of months ago. It’s
been too long. I’d drive every day if I could!
Did you see Helio Castroneves win Dancing
with the Stars? I was so happy when they
announced his name. Helio is a great person
and a wonderful personality, and he fit with
that show so well.
The whole thing was just wonderful for him
and for IndyCar Series racing. It gives us more
attention and draws more people to our sport.
I’m so proud of him, but I’m sure we’ll all be
teasing him the next time we see him!
Off-season?
IndyCarSeries 2007 winterspecial 17
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