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03/20/19 03:10:00
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03/20 15:08 CDT Danica Patrick doesn't miss racing since retiring last year
Danica Patrick doesn't miss racing since retiring last year
By JENNA FRYER
AP Auto Racing Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) --- Danica Patrick choked back tears after crashing out of
her final Indianapolis 500, that one last trip around the historic speedway
that launched her career coming to such a disappointing close.
She has not been back to a race track in the 10 months since. And she hasn't
looked back even once.
NBC Sports announced Wednesday that Patrick will be part of its inaugural
broadcast of the Indianapolis 500 in May, a project that will return her to
Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time since she ended her career there
a year ago with the second leg of the "Danica Double." In a telephone interview
with The Associated Press, she was asked if she has missed racing since she
walked away.
"No. No I don't. I'm being really honest," Patrick said without hesitation.
"I'm not someone who looks back on things and has a lot of regret. I'm really
not. Anytime anybody asks me if I could change anything, what would I change?
Well, I'm just not the kind of person that really thinks like that. You know, I
(raced) it for 27 years and life is so short and there's so much to experience
and so much to do. I spent a lot of time racing and now I can spend time doing
other things."
Patrick is the only woman to lead laps in both the Daytona 500 and the
Indianapolis 500, win the pole for the Daytona 500 and win an IndyCar Series
race. Her third-place finish at Indy in 2009 is the highest for a woman.
She walked away last season after a farewell tour that stopped at Daytona and
Indianapolis. Both finales ended in crashes, and Patrick gradually eased into
private life following the Indy 500. She was the first woman to host the ESPYs
in July, but has spent the bulk of her time enjoying personal travel,
occasional speaking engagements and focusing on her wine label.
Patrick has been primarily based in Phoenix since January, when the NFL season
ended for quarterback boyfriend Aaron Rodgers, and enjoying the freedom of
setting her own schedule.
"I'm an optimist who thinks things will work out and even though they can be
scary along the way, but I really felt strong enough to make the decision to
retire and move on and jump into these other projects I have," Patrick said.
"You don't want to be half-hearted going 200 mph. The intention was that I
wanted to travel and I wanted to be able to be able to just take a weeklong
trip ... plan events in the summer that are really cool, go to concerts."
Part of her retirement schedule took Patrick, who turns 37 next week, on her
first return trip to Europe since the start of her racing career. Patrick moved
alone as a teenager to England to pursue her career and now admits she was
unhappy and didn't enjoy the experience.
It left her with little desire to visit London or Paris as a tourist, but she
gave it a shot with friends late last year and found it to be a cathartic trip
that helped her make peace with her earlier experiences.
"England was the place that I didn't really like and I had a lot of resentment
for it," Patrick said. "Then I get back to London and the people are nice the
food's really, really good and it's a really cool city."
She recalled becoming sick in Paris long ago after eating a steak someone had
refused to cook longer.
"I was just, like, miserable and people weren't very nice," she said. "So the
French had a reputation in my mind. Then I went back this time and the people
were so nice and the food was so good and the city was so beautiful.
"I just had a totally different experience and I think that one is maturity
playing a role, and two, you know when you're financial position changes and
your ability to do more things opens up, that probably helps a little from a
practicality side."
Patrick has put her clothing line on hold and although she has continued her
social media presence in the fitness space, she's not presently working on a
second book. She hopes to start writing more, but a second book would veer away
from the health and fitness focus of her debut "Pretty Intense."
"I think it would be more spiritual, more metaphysical, quantum science kind of
stuff," she said. "Maybe I'll just submit my journal."
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