DANIKA PATRICK'S HOPES CRASHED by RYAN BRISCOE

Danika Patrick craved a win in today's Indianapolis 500. She fought a continual uphill battle to get to where she is today; starting 5^th in the 2^nd row in the 92^nd Indianapolis 500. This was her fourth start at the Brickyard. Her goal was to be the first female to win the legendary race. Danika earlier had been quoted as saying, "This year I'm going for the win, no matter what." Her primary sponsors are GoDaddy.com and XM Satellite Radio.

The winner of the ever changing 2008 Indianapolis 500 was Scott Dixon. Second place went to Vito Meira, and third place to Marco Andretti.

Her car gave her difficulties early in the race. At around lap 112 she was heard saying to her crew, that, "that the car was lugging in the corners." After a pit stop with 62 laps to go, she radioed her pit crew saying, "I am slow. I'm slow." As she requested the crew to figure out the problem so they could fix it during the next pit stop.

Danika's hopes were crushed while leaving pit row with approximately twenty nine laps left in the race, when Ryan Briscoe collided with her left rear suspension. Her car's rear suspension suffered irreparable damage, causing her have to give up her dream of a win at this year's 500. This was the first time she was unable to complete the Indy 500. The crowd applauded and cheered loudly as Patrick emerged from her car in the pit area. She immediately proceeded to head to Ryan Briscoe's pit area, but was redirected by the head of PR and security. When asked at the end of the race, what she had intended to say to Briscoe, she replied, "It's probably better we didn't make it down there."

Last month Patrick won the Indy Japan 300, in Motegi, Japan. The oval track in Montegi is 1.5-miles, (2.4 km). She became the first female driver to win an Indy Car race. Patrick took the Indy Japan 300 after the race leaders were forced to pit for fuel in the final laps. She finished 5.8594 seconds ahead of Helio Castroneves, the Brazilian pole-sitter on the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) Twin Ring Motegi oval.

The 26-year-old from Beloit, Wisconsin has been one of Sports Illustrated as a swimsuit models in February 2008 issue. She has also been featured in ESPN: The Magazine, and TV Guide. On Saturday, March 29, she received an award for Favorite Female Athlete, as part of the 2008 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. She also recently was named one of Maxim Magazines top 100.

Danika quit high school when she was only 16. Prior to getting into auto racing, she was a cheerleader at Hononegah High School near Beloit in 1996. She then welcomed an offer from John Mecom III; heir to a Texas oil fortune, to sponsor her in a competition in the Formula Vauxhall Series located in England. Such began the racing career of Danika Patrick. Mecom stopped funding her after one season, based on her reputation of being a party girl and not completely dedicated to racing.

Danika Patrick drives for the Andretti Green Racing Team in car number 7. After her untimely end on the 2008 race, the Andretti team only had two cars left in the race. One of those being driven by Marco Andretti. On May 25^th, 2005, Patrick became only the fourth woman to compete in the Indianapolis 500, following Janet Guthrie, Lyn St. James and Sarah Fisher.

Patrick remains haunted by her failure to win at the Brickyard in her rookie season in 2005. She led for 19 laps until only nine laps from the end. She finished fourth, because she backed off the throttle in order to conserve fuel, under instructions from her team and allowing three cars to pass.

Another public celebrity that participated in the Indianapolis 500 this year was two-times Indy 500 winner, Helio Castroneves. Helio gained much notoriety when he preformed and won on the television show "Dancing With The Stars". He says that the show has garnered some much needed crossover appeal for his sport of car racing. When asked about Danika, Helio replied, "Danika has as good a shot as anyone. She no longer over-drives her car. If her car is bad, she won't push it and wreck it. But if her car is good, she'll get everything she can out of it. She has really grown."