Danica Patrick not looking forward to race in Japan

  This Sunday the Indycar race series is scheduled to run a race in Motegi, Japan. Because of the recent, earthquakes, tsunami and damage to nuclear reactors, driver Danica Patrick showed reservations about making the trip.

  “It’s not great. I mean I don’t want to make anyone mad, but heck yeah I’m concerned,” she said. “I mean, MotoGP has made a big fuss about going there and obviously their race got delayed and it’s still after ours the next weekend.”

  MotoGP conducted a study that deemed the area safe to hold their race event but Patrick was unsure how to interpret their findings.

  “I don’t know if it necessarily means the radiation levels are elevated compared to the past, maybe they are but it’s not the highest around,” Patrick said. “The radiation seems like it’s okay.”

  However, Patrick’s greatest concern is with the food and water. “They say say don’t eat beef, which probably means don’t eat vegetables and fruit,” she said. “I read something about nine times the radiation in mushrooms so far out of Fukushima and that area.

  “I will pack precautions for my own food,” she added. “My husband and I will pack as much food as possible and water. I feel like the league should be responsible for all that but I’m not going to rely on them.”

  But there were more concerns besides radiation and food supply. “There’s earthquakes like every week and it seems like every other week there’s a really big one,” she said. “I mean there’s been a couple 6.5s in the last week or two.”

  Patrick said she is not alone in her feelings. “I think there’s a general concern for the safety of being over there. I’m told that Indycar has an emergency plan if something happens and we all need to get out, which is terrible to think about.”

  Being as this is the final year the race will be run in Japan, Patrick could not understand why there has been so much pressure to conduct the event in an area of potential danger. “I guess it’s just, we’ve compromised on the track, because we’re racing on the road course and not the oval,” she said. “Indycar is not going back after this year anyway. It just seems like a lot of forced things to make it happen. But I’m just a driver and I show up where I’m told to show up.”

Tony Stewart feeling pressured by the media

  Teetering on the brink of missing the Chase, driver Tony Stewart was getting a little tired of answering whether or not he was feeling pressure.

  “The pressure is all of the media standing here,” he said. “We’re doing the same thing we always do every week. It’s you guys asking us the same questions for eight straight weeks in a row is annoying. That’s where the pressure is coming in because we’re answering the same thing that we answered for the last seven weeks. That is where it gets annoying after awhile and gets to be very monotonous.”

  With Stewart’s surly reply, one reporter tried a different approach. “What should we be asking?”

  Stewart’s reply was expected. “I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t do your job. Come up with something original.”

Dumb & dumber… questions

  Irritated with Tony Stewart’s response, one reporter thought he might find a more welcome response from Kurt Busch- possibly forgetting the fact that Busch’s last trip to Richmond brought on a profanity laced tirade over his team’s radio.

  “What kind of advice would you have for Tony Stewart and how do you deal with the aggravation of the media?” the reporter asked.

  “Really? That’s what you’re asking?” answered a stunned Busch. “I’m supposed to give Tony Stewart advice? Let’s go to the next question.”

What kind of math are you using?

  On Thursday afternoon, Richmond International Raceway held a press conference to give reporters a chance to talk to each driver who could still possibly make the Chase. “Mathematically, we still have 14 drivers that are still eligible to get into the Chase,” said NASCAR’s Kerry Tharp, pointing out that the number doubles any previous possibilities.

  One reporter was unsatisfied with the statement. “Your notes say mathematically, what do they say realistically?”

  “Mathematically is realistically,” Tharp replied. “I believe in math.”

  The first driver introduced was A.J. Allmendinger. “Am I a part of this mathematically or realistically?” he asked.

  “You are both,” Tharp replied.

Sorry I lost my decoder ring

  Anyone listening in on Denny Hamlin’s team radio during last weeks race in Atlanta found themselves confused. That included crew chief Mike Ford.

  Due to the fact other teams can listen to communications, drivers and their crew chiefs often talk in code. However, that presents a problem when they are both not on the same page.

  “Thank goodness for the rain break,” Hamlin said, “because he started adjusting the car off of what I’m telling him but I’m telling him the opposite and it was a big ol mess. I should have never said anything.

  “We try to get too cute at times and a lot of teams do, talking in code about what their team’s doing and what not,” Hamlin said. “In Atlanta, if your car’s good it’s a big game in a sense of how hard you want to go in the beginning, the end, the middle, to save tires and what not. I was trying to relay to him that everything was okay, I’m just pacing myself. Everything’s going to be fine. But he started turning jack bolts and the car and track bar and I started panicking that ‘hey don’t do that.

  “Once we had that break he understood what I was talking about.”
I’m not putting up with it anymore

  In Atlanta driver Mark Martin was involved in an on track incident with Reagan Smith leading to questions if he is no longer taking on the personae of the perfect gentleman racer.

  “(With) how equal the cars are, it’s pushed everyone to really a whole different level of driving than it used to,” Martin said. “Part of that requires less sportsmanship and more- me; more selfishness. And I’m falling right in there with the gang.

  “These restarts, they’re getting pretty tough,” he said. “I’m not going to be run in to. I’m not going to be run in to. I don’t run into people and people aren’t going to get away with running into me.”

Don’t look at me

  Needing a good finish at Richmond, Denny Hamlin wanted to keep things cordial with Martin’s adopted ‘looking out for number one’ stance on racing.

  “I think you’ve been a perfect gentleman,” Hamlin told Martin.

  “I haven’t wrecked you have I?” Martin replied.

  “I’m not sure that we’ve… well,” Hamlin thought for a moment.

  “We had one scrap but that was a long time ago,” Martin said.

  “I think you bumped into me last year at Homestead when you were helping out your teammate (Jimmie Johnson).”

  “That was an accident though,” Martin said.

Flying the flag

  While many drivers at Richmond sported 9/11 paint schemes on their car, no one went as far as Kyle Busch. The traditional #18 was repainted with the flag and nothing else.

  “It takes a lot of people to just kind of give up the real estate obviously,” Busch said. “Advertising is the main reason as to why we can race these cars around the race track. M&M’s, NOS Energy Drink, Interstate Batteries and all the folks we’re partners with took their logos off the car. I did my part, I took my name off the car.”

  Was Busch worried his fans or detractors would be able to find him on the track?

  “It’s not ever hard to find the #18,” Busch smirked. “Trust me, just because it’ always gets some sort of attention.”

  Because of point rules, Busch had to later put sponsor stickers on his car.

Don’t push me

  In March while in Las Vegas, the always adventurous Carl Edwards made his way to the top of the Stratosphere and jumped off with bungee cord attached. Because he enjoyed the thrill so much, Edwards said he would pay for any member of the media to join him when he returned in December.

  In Richmond, reporter Mike Mulhern of Mike Mulhern.net asked if the offer still stood.

  “If you want to go, I’d love to watch you jump off,” Edwards said. “Now are you going to use a rope because…..”

  After the laughter died down, Edwards showed his enthusiasm. “It’s fun. It’s really neat,” he said. “If you guys all want to make a trip over there I’ll pay if you guys want to jump off it. It’s pretty neat.”

  But then Edwards had a moment to think about it. “It’s actually scary,” he added. “When you stand there and you’re strapped to all this stuff. You’re heart will be pounding.”

After his media session ended, Edwards was asked if he would pay to have some media members pushed off the Stratosphere.