Danica Patrick Phenomenon Facing Test With New Book, Return to Indy 500

INDIANAPOLIS, May 9, 2006 — -- The Danica Patrick phenomenon will come full circle over the next few weeks as America's Princess of Speed returns to the track where her still-growing legend was born.

That track is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, of course, and Danica enters the Month of May 2006 as arguably the biggest draw on offer out at 16th and Georgetown.

Patrick warmed up for her return to The Brickyard and the Indianapolis 500 on May 28, with a week-long national tour promoting her new book "Danica: Crossing the Line." And judging by the 200-strong crowd that greeted her at a northside Indianapolis branch of Borders Books on Monday night, "Danica-mania" isn't going away any time soon.

Most of them didn't look like traditional race fans, to the delight of those marketing types who believe the best way to re-grow open-wheel racing is to cultivate new fans rather than activate old ones. There were lots of kids and their parents, many of them decked out in Danica gear; young men shyly captured her image on cell phones and digital cameras and a small group of media waited patiently for a few minutes with the petite star when she was done signing autographs.

As usual, Danica's whole day was a family affair. She was accompanied to the signing by her mom and dad (Bev and TJ) and husband, Paul Hospenthal. The group had just come from dinner after helping Danica's younger sister, Brooke, move into a new apartment.

In the book, Patrick talks a lot about the unusually strong bond she shares with her family and it's clearly obvious in the flesh. Those revelations, along with an extremely candid description of the difficult years she spent in England trying to build her open-wheel road racing career, are the best aspects of "Crossing the Line."

For the most part, Patrick's personality shines through the pages of the book, easily recognizable to those who have spent time with her or followed her career closely. What lets the volume down is the contribution of Morton, who did a sloppy job researching the history of women in racing among other factual errors. All of them could have been easily caught ahead of time had anyone with a modicum of knowledge about racing been allowed to proofread the book.