20 AprTwo laps, Two Minutes to Midnight

With two laps to go and two minutes until the strike of midnight on the east coast Danica Patrick won her first IndyCar Race!

The race was in Japan. With rain delays and time differences Tom and I found the race being broadcast live on ESPN Classic Saturday night. So instead of our wild and crazy plan to rent a movie we watched the race.

After finishing my bowl of popcorn and bottle of Coors Light I said goodnight to Tom and headed upstairs to watch the rest of the race in bed. Of course I fell asleep. There are a few TV shows that can do that to me like CSI, Numbers, Boston Legal, baseball and car racing. Any one of these can take the place of the most potent sleeping pill on earth.

But in my sleep I heard “Danica” over and over coming from the TV. Hearing her name repeated so many times woke me up. The announcers were talking incessantly about how she can win this race about how about she is about to win this race. I open my eyes at the very moment she passes Helio Castroneves and takes the last three laps to Victory Lane. All the while I screamed Go Danica Go! Go Danica! And clapped my hands together so hard to help her stay in the lead my palms were stinging.

When you combine the fuel strategy with with her skill, talent, team, speed and determination and you have yourself an undeniable race car driver winner. And one very proud fan.