Patrick says she's ready to be a force in NASCAR

By Viv Bernstein

Those racy photo shoots and GoDaddy.com commercials are not the only reasons Danica Patrick is the most brazen driver in NASCAR. Just listen to her.

"Do I think I can win the Daytona 500? Yeah," Patrick told reporters Thursday at Daytona International Speedway.

She could be right. Trevor Bayne, a rookie part-timer in his second Sprint Cup start, won it last year to prove once again that the Daytona 500 is one of NASCAR's least predictable races. But for Patrick to declare herself a contender before her first Cup event says as much about her as it does about the race.

As veteran driver Denny Hamlin said last month, "If she's got the confidence that she can win the Daytona 500, then I can guarantee you she's got as good a shot as anyone here right now."

Patrick, who is 5 feet 2 inches when she is not glamorizing NASCAR in spike heels, has never been short on confidence. As she moves from IndyCar and prepares to race full time in the Cup series in 2013 by driving regularly in the lower-level Nationwide Series for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s JR Motorsports and in 10 Cup races for Stewart-Haas Racing this season, Patrick appears at ease with all the attention.

"Hey, I want to do well just as much as other people want to see me do well," said Patrick, who will turn 30 on March 25. "I'm sure there's people who don't want to see me do well, as well. But no, I put plenty of pressure on myself. It's about a story. It's entertainment. It's a story, and everybody's trying to dig in it from different directions, creating their own expectations. But it's really opinion, and I have one, too."

In 2005, Patrick becam the first woman to lead laps in the Indianapolis 500; she finished fourth. She has been a focal point and lightning rod in auto racing ever since. Patrick has titillated some male fans by posing for Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue and in other risque spreads. She has angered some women by baring skin to cash in and raise her profile.

Patrick apologizes for none of it.

"I do what feels comfortable to me and then I'm good with it," she said. "I'm a girl, and so to say I can't use being a girl doesn't make any sense. In this world, there's so much competition out there that you have to use everything that you have to make sponsors happy, to attract them, to be unique, to be different."