Patrick fastest in final practice
Danica Patrick, who will start 14th among the 18 cars in Sunday's race, turned in the fastest lap during the final practice session on Saturday afternoon in preparation for the ABC Supply Co./A.J. Foyt 225 at The Milwaukee Mile
The Rahal-Letterman Racing driver was clocked at 22.1654 seconds, nearly a full tenth faster than Sam Hornish Jr., who held P1 for most of the 30-minute session.
Patrick said she didn't put much stake in her showing of speed during the full-field practice session, instead voicing concern about her starting position.
"It's going to a race of consistency," Patrick said. "Whoever has the most consistent car is going to do the best.
"My goal is to not go a lap down at the beginning because I'm starting so far back. That happens easily, even on a big oval. We'll have to be mindful of that."
Patrick recorded the fast lap on the 34th of her 51 circuits around the mile oval. The effort topped that of Hornish and others who have showed speed the past two days, including Vitor Meira, who was third-fastest in the final session; Marco Andretti, who has been consistently quick Friday and Saturday; and Helio Castroneves, who will start from the pole.
"I don't know how everybody's times were from beginning to end, but I know I fell off a little bit," Patrick said. "More than anything, I fell off in traffic. I didn't hear anybody was doing a whole lot of overtaking, but I was able to run high and low. I'll see if I can make the most of that."
Final practice times:
Pos Driver Team Time 1. Danica Patrick Rahal-Letterman 22.1654 2. Sam Hornish Jr Penske 22.2561 3. Vitor Meira Panther 22.2955 4. Marco Andretti Andretti-Green 22.3789 5. Helio Castroneves Penske 22.4660 6. Tony Kanaan Andretti-Green 22.5117 7. Tomas Scheckter Vision 22.6043 8. Scott Sharp Fernandez 22.6211 9. Jeff Simmons Rahal-Letterman 22.6275 10. Dan Wheldon Ganassi 22.7617 11. Dario Franchitti Andretti-Green 22.7682 12. Bryan Herta Andretti-Green 22.7904 13. Ed Carpenter Vision 22.8864 14. Scott Dixon Ganassi 22.9231 15. Kosuke Matsuura Aguri Fernandez 23.0919 16. Buddy Rice Rahal-Letterman 23.1221 17. Jeff Bucknum Foyt 23.2390 18. Ryan Briscoe Dreyer & Reinbold 23.6566
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