Danica Patrick caught speeding, and pays fine

Wow, a whopping 19mph over *sigh*..........BIG DEAL!! Stuff like this makes the news??

 

So she didn't come to FChat, cry, whine, moan and threaten to sue the cop that pulled her over?! She just paid the ticket?! The gall of her! I wonder how many tickets she has? I bet more than me!

 

on the topic of racing drivers and speeding tickets... i remember hearing one about M.Schumacher getting pulled over for speeding while in USA for the indy F1. the cop didnt recognise him etc... told him he needed to learn how to drive etc..

 

She's no Matt Dillon.

 

Here are some interesting quotes by Danica from an April 2008 interview.
She's answering questions from a reporter from the NY Daily News.
Link is here: http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2008/04/22/2008-04-22_danica_patricks_need_for_speed.html?print=1&page=all

---------------------------------------------

What do you drive personally?

I have a Lamborghini Gallardo and an [Mercedes] ML 63 AMG. It's the souped up SUV version of the Mercedes. I like the Mercedes more than the Lamborghini anyway. There are more gadgets in it. There's more ways to adjust the suspension, there's so many little tricky, cool things in the Mercedes. The Lamborghini's more of a bare bones sports car. It's paddle shifting and whatever else. It's so low to ground too. If you hit a curb or a dip in the road you're done. It's very expensive to fix. When oil changes are as much as they are, I don't know want to know how much new bodywork is. I have to avoid certain roads when I drive that car, because I know that there's a big enough dip that I'll bottom out. It's kind of annoying. You take the Mercedes, and it's almost as fast, and you can drive over anything.

Do you go fast in your own cars when you're just driving around Arizona?

I'm not doing a hundred in a 45 mph zone, because that would be silly, but I'm usually 15 over. I don't go more than 20 over. If I'm really late, I'll do 90 on the highway, maybe, but I just know you're going to get in so much trouble.

Do you get stopped?

Yes, I've been stopped actually. I've pretty much gotten out of all tickets since 2005 except for one little soldier in my town decided that he was going to pull me over. I was 17 over the limit. I tried to pull the race car driver card, and I know he had already written the ticket, but I said, "I'm a race car driver. I'm not going to hurt anyone out here, I do know what I'm doing," and he said, "I don't know who you are and I don't care." But then it was on the news that night.

So he did know?

Oh yeah.

Though you are driving two really flashy cars....

(Laughs) You think he was jealous in his cruiser when I went by in the Mercedes? I don't get tickets in the Lambo. I've been pulled over for some pretty extreme speeds in that. One time I had doubled the legal limit and I got out of it, thank goodness.

How did you get out of it? Feminine wiles?

"I'm a race car driver." (Smirks)

Ah. So are you safe when you're speeding around?

Oh yeah! I don't want to crash anymore than the next guy. I don't want to hurt myself or anyone else. I think why I go fast is because I have a very big comfort zone when I drive and other people don't. And that's why they drive as slow as they do. I'm equally if not more safe than other slower drivers out there.

 

Now that's ironic!

 

I saw the headline on several news organizations and thought she must have been flying down the road. 19 over? That is not even worth talking about. Big deal.

 

What does that mean?

 

that interview was a waste...3 minutes of my life i'm certain i will miss someday. why does she feel compelled to even open her mouth? moreover...shame on me for caring enough to read it!!!

pcb

 

Now there's one-size-fits-all justice! Unbelievable.

 

Indeed it did happen.


''Hey buddy, I know the racing is in town today, but thats not a reason for you to speed. Do you think you're Nigel Mansell or something? [chews gum]''

''Err no, i'm Michael Schumacher''

''Whose that?''


Remember this is in indianapolis, on the day of the race.

 

I remember back in the 70's, Mario Andretti saying his wife drove him around in a stationwagon most of the time, to avoid speeding tickets.

 

Yeah really, give her a break...

 

haha, thats right... classic quote

 

I can only imagine her attitude to the copper! I also love her description of the one who wrote her, "a little soldier"..... Everytime I've seen her in the pits at a race, she's stomping around with a scowl on her face. Totally unapproachable if you were inclined to try. A guy at work has a brother who is in advertising and worked with her on a TV commercial. Described her as a total b***h who sat in her trailer and wouldn't talk to anybody. I think it's awesome the cop "didn't know her". Take that ego!!!

 

The late Brad Abbott (FerrariChat member ID: EFWUN) once told me a story... He said he was on the Long Island Expressway in a Camaro or something like that. In the passenger seat was some famous racecar driver - I can't remember the name, but it was someone really well know; let's say it was Mario Andretti for the sake of the story. Anyway, he's flying down the LIE at something around 145mph. He gets pulled over and the cop walks up to the window and says, "Who do you think you are, Mario Andretti?" Brad turns, points to the passenger seat and says, "No, that's him."

 

Thats funny very similar tale is told here in England, of one year during the Britsh Grand Prix weekend Ayrton Senna was running late for free practice. He was stopped on his way to Silverstone by a police officer for speeding. The officer came to the window and opened with, “Who do you think you are, Nigel Mansell?”.

I wonder if both of these stories are true or just internet legend?