DANICA PATRICK SPRINT FAN VOTE WINNER,

DANICA PATRICK (SPRINT FAN VOTE WINNER, No. 10 GO DADDY CHEVROLET): “Well obviously first and foremost thank you to all the fans who voted for me, or maybe voted so many times for me. I’m very fortunate to have the fan base that I do, and I never forget that. Thanks to the Sprint Fan vote. It’s a big honor. This is for the fans. God, I’m gonna sound really cheesy right now. I’m going to race for the fans tonight because I got done with that race, and I feel really fired up. I wanted to make passes and make my way up and do what I could to get to those first two positions, and I didn’t do that. And I feel like owe it to them to put on a good show, or a better show, in the All-Star Race. My good team made something; I didn’t know they made it, so I don’t want this to sound like I’m coming up with this all on my own. But they knew how good my fans were and I know how hard they worked, so we have a “Thanks Fans” sign to put on the car just in case I won. So thank you, Team Danica and Stewart-Haas. So that’ll be on the car, and I’m glad to be in the race.
(Were you able to conserve because you thought you might win the fan vote?) I think that it enters your mind that you don’t do things that put you in a position to crash. But I didn’t think about it at the beginning of those 20-lap runs, but when it gets to the end of them, like at the end when I was running around and clearly wasn’t going to be first or second. If I was fortunate enough to be in the position I am now, I can’t move on with a crashed car. There’s nothing to gain by trying something desperate at that point in time.
(Why do you have such a rabid fan base?) I feel like that would be a good piece; I don’t know. I feel like some fans need to be interviewed and find out what it is. I’ve said it many times that I’m not sure exactly what it is that people like or see or cheer for in me. I mean, I’m a driver, and I race cars, and being different, being a girl, there’s things there. But what is it? All that I know is that I do my best to be myself all the time, to let the fans see different sides of my personality, to be honest with the fans, and at the end of the day, even if they don’t agree with everything I say or do, at least they can respect my honesty.”