Danica disappointed she can’t perform better

Danica Patrick says she is disappointed she can’t perform better but has come to the realization that her stock-car career will involve a slow learning process.

“I’m starting to realize that this is really challenging, it’s really hard and I need not be so hard on myself and I need to just stay upbeat and take every lap as an improvement from the one before and that’s it, just keep marching forward," Patrick said in a news conference following practice.

“I feel kind of bad that it’s not more amazing out there, [that] I’m not higher up because it’s more entertaining for the fans and a better story. But it’s just very hard. It speaks volumes of how good these drivers are in stock cars."

“I always feel like I have a lot of really great fans everywhere I go," Patrick said. “There is a little extra oomph [here] as I drive out on to pit lane. I feel like there [are] a few guys that are helping us get out there that are giving you a little pump of the fist and a little bit of encouragement and maybe that has to do with being local."

Although Patrick was at Chicagoland Speedway a few weeks ago for an IndyCar Series tire test, she said there is nothing comparable to being in a stock car.

“This track in an IndyCar versus a stock car is completely different," Patrick said. “They don’t even look the same. … The IndyCar, the corners feel flat and you’re running down the inside down the back. In a stock car, it feels like a big round arc on the way in [the first turn] and a big arc into [Turn] 3.

“In an IndyCar, you’re running so low around the bottom of the track the whole time and you’re going so fast, I feel like the track feels flatter."“It’s just hot out there and there’s not a ton of grip in these cars, especially compared to what I’m used to," Patrick said. “We have to find the best balance so that we have a consistent car in the race and we can hold on and not be severely struggling at any point."