IRL's Patrick primed for new challenges

0 Comments | USA TODAY, March, 2006 | by A.J. Perez

Danica Patrick was beset with as many changes the last handful of months as the IRL IndyCar Series for which she serves as its reluctant icon.

She got married in November, a month after she wrapped up a historic season during which Patrick become the first woman to lead the Indy 500 en route to rookie of the year honors. She also saw one teammate (Vitor Meira) depart and another (Paul Dana) arrive while the expectations placed on her escalated.

"I can handle it. I'm fine with it," says Patrick, one of the 20 drivers expected to be on the grid for Sunday's season-opening Toyota Indy 300 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. "It would be bad if I felt the pressure to perform along with it."

That stands to become that much harder for Patrick. Her team, Rahal...