‘Chick’ snares first IRL pole

Rookie Patrick leads charge by Rahal Letterman team

? It was pure coincidence that at the same time Indy Racing League rookie Danica Patrick was wrapping up with reporters after claiming her first career pole Saturday afternoon, fireworks sounded in the background to signal the start of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck race at Kansas Speedway.

But make no doubt about it, the 23-year-old Patrick already is a star in the making, and Saturday’s pole was just another step.

As if her sport-shaking performance at Indianapolis in May was not enough, today she’ll try to achieve what she has been dreaming about her entire motorsport career when she starts in the front of the 12:25 p.m. Argent Mortgage Indy 300.

“I’ve been waiting for this for 14 years and trying my whole life to get to this point,” said Patrick, who topped two Rahal Letterman Racing teammates, Buddy Rice and Vitor Meira, when she turned in the quickest lap of 214.688 mph in 25.4905 seconds around the 1.5-mile tri-oval track.

Rice – who won last year’s race at the Speedway when he held off Meira by .0051 seconds, the second-closest race in IndyCar Series history – qualified second at 214.650 mph (25.4927 seconds), while Meira was third at 214.546 mph (25.5050 seconds).

“We are repeating the story again,” Meira said. “Last year, it was me and Buddy first and second, and now we are first, second and third. It doesn’t get much better than that. Like Buddy said, we can’t say enough about the team.”

Saturday, most fans’ attention clearly was centered squarely on Patrick, who earlier this year became the first woman to lead a lap at the Indianapolis 500 and had the best finish by a female in the 89-year history of the race with a fourth-place showing.

“I know a lot of this started because I’m a chick in a race car,” said Patrick, who was greeted by the constant flash of photographers’ cameras in the media center and a huge cheer by the capacity crowd waiting for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 to begin.

Indy Racing League driver Danica Patrick stands under an umbrella and is surrounded by the media while waiting for qualifying. She earned the pole position Saturday for today's Argent Mortgage Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway.

“I don’t think now it’s so much a girl doing well as much as it is a rookie having a great run. Look at what’s happening: A young person who has never driven an IndyCar before is out there performing and handling the pressure.”

While Patrick’s pole-setting performance was a first for her, it was the second time in IndyCar Series history that a female driver has been in the pole position. Sarah Fisher broke through at Kentucky Speedway in 2002.

“Sarah’s had a pole before, so this is not untouched territory,” said Patrick, who was first in Saturday morning’s early practice session at 214.745 mph (25.4814 seconds).

“What will make a difference is staying up there tomorrow and competing with my teammates who were so strong here last year.”

Patrick – who admitted, “I’m almost as nervous as I was at Indy” – said she was satisfied for herself and her team with taking the next step in her career.

“It feels very good,” said Patrick, who has not been in contention to win in either of the two races following Indy. “I’m very proud of how hard the team has worked and how hard I have worked. I’m a little bit relieved, actually.”

Patrick’s teammate, Rice, was equally excited for her.

“I think it’s very special for her to get her first pole here at an Argent-sponsored weekend,” said Rice, of the mortgage company that sponsors his, and Patrick’s cars. “The first one is always a memorable one.”

Rahal Letterman Racing technical director Tim Reiter said this weekend could become even more memorable for Patrick.

“Kansas is not entirely different from a lot of the places we go,” he said. “You have to make sure the car is consistent, and you have to get as much drag out of the car as you can. You like to run the car as low on the track as possible to get good lap times.

“You also have to be able to run in the heavy traffic, too. Fortunately, you don’t have to do too much to these cars to make them run well in traffic. There are a couple of tracks, where that is more of a problem, but Kansas really isn’t too bad.

“The challenge is minimizing the potential errors that can occur. You have to have a car that’s balanced as possible, as neutral as possible. You can’t scrub any speed, and you have to stay with the cars running up front. It’s a very delicate balance.”

Something that Rice and Meira had during their battle over the last laps last season, and something Rice said the new three-car team could do once again.

“With any mile-and-half track this team is strong,” he said. “With three cars, we have that much more information. I think it makes us that much stronger. I think our cars excel, and we did a lot of work to make that happen.”

The last time a team swept the top three grid spots was 2002 when Tomas Scheckter, Rice, and Eddie Cheever went 1-2-3 for Cheever Racing.

Scheckter finished fourth in qualifying ahead of Darren Manning, Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Scott Sharp and Sam Hornish Jr., who is making his 19th consecutive top-10 start.

Points leader Dan Wheldon will start 13th.

“It’s been a very disappointing weekend at Kansas, so far,” Wheldon said. “The Klein Tools/Jim Beam car has been very slow since we rolled it off the truck, and we really don’t know why. We just don’t seem to have an answer for it. Right now, I’ve got a lot of people in front of me that are going to be difficult to beat.”

Including Patrick, who, when asked if she was ready to handle her first career victory, answered emphatically with a big smile, “Let’s do it.”