Jason Whitlock  

Danica’s win brings even more expectations

Back in the Andretti Green trailer, away from the media throng that had just peppered her with questions about her historic victory and week as America’s No. 1 sports story, Danica Patrick was reflective, determined and succinct.

“I expected it,” she said, referring to the question that cast her triumph in Japan as strategic more than skillful.

Patrick, the female star of IndyCar racing, was not defensive or even bothered by the question. She just knew it was coming.

“I think you’re trying to trick me into an answer,” Patrick initially responded when asked if she would’ve preferred a more dramatic victory rather than a “gas mileage thing.” She then gathered her thoughts and basically said there’s no way to spin any victory into a negative.

If Patrick doesn’t win Sunday’s race, the Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway, she knows someone might ask her when she thinks she’ll win on American soil.

Danica Patrick’s racing career will always be defined by expectations. She might as well be the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. She doesn’t have the luxury of just being good, which she has been for four years. Danica Patrick has to be great. She needs to be Peyton Manning. Drew Bledsoe won’t do.

I’m not going to call it unfair, a product of sexism. It’s more like an inevitable burden, a byproduct of talent, beauty and timing. IndyCar racing and the Indy 500 need to be saved. The racing gods — in my opinion — picked a 105-pound woman to save them.

The gods picked the right woman, too. What I’ve long respected about Patrick is her toughness. She’s as fearless and stubborn as Allen Iverson, as shrewd and calculated as Michael Jordan and as emotional as Brett Favre.

Yes, her victory in the Japan 300 was fueled by fuel strategy. But no one seems to remember that Patrick was the person who had the guts to bolt Rahal Letterman for Andretti Green. She jumped off the Titanic for the sole purpose of aligning herself with people who were totally committed to winning races and flush with the resources to make it happen.

There’s the cliché about luck and preparation colliding to create success. Danica has been prepared to win since 2005, when she almost won the greatest spectacle in racing. Joining Andretti Green simply sped up her opportunity to run into good fortune.

It happened in Japan, a little off the radar. That’s fine. The point has been proven. She can win. She belongs.

“If I didn’t prove it over the last 3 1/2 years, then they’ll never believe I belong here,” Patrick said, referencing her critics.

It gets back to expectations. Everyone who matters — her peers on the track, car owners, pit bosses, racing experts — realized during her fourth-place run in the 2005 Indy 500 that the girl could run with the big boys. She was the Indy 500 rookie of the year.

Now it’s all about fulfilling expectations. We want her to be Tiger Woods. And what do we now say about Tiger Woods, now that he’s won everything?

We complain that Tiger has never won a major championship with a come-from-behind final round. We wonder when he’ll ever win the Grand Slam in a calendar year.

The higher Danica climbs, the more we will expect. Her history at Kansas Speedway suggests that she’ll be competitive on Sunday. She won her first pole here. She runs well on 1.5-mile ovals.

The wild card is how she’ll handle all the excitement and distraction of this week. She’s barely slept since her victory. She eats while getting her hair done. It’s odd, but victory in some ways makes victory more difficult.

“I went and worked my butt off for a week,” Patrick said. “I feel pretty good, though. I think that everything happens for a reason. And if this would have come three years ago on the heels of Indy or something like that, you know, maybe I wouldn’t be calm and prepared.”

To reach Jason Whitlock, call 816-234-4869 or send e-mail to jwhitlock@kcstar.com. For previous columns, go to KansasCity.com.