Danica Patrick is still at center of attention

She's now a veteran racer who is still searching for her first victory.
HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) -- Danica Patrick never could have imagined the whirlwind of excitement she was about to stir up when she made her Indy Racing League debut last year at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Patrick, then a virtually unknown 23-year-old, was under orders from Rahal-Letterman Racing boss Bobby Rahal to drive conservatively, learn her trade and get plenty of seat time by finishing races, no matter where she wound up in the standings.
Now, heading into the season-opening Toyota Indy 300 Sunday, last year's top rookie is a veteran racer -- but she's still the center of attention in the IRL.
Danica Mania at Indy
Patrick ignited a sensation last year that became known as "Danica Mania" when she qualified fourth for the Indianapolis 500, became the first woman to lead the race and wound up fourth -- by far the best finish for a woman driver at Indy.
She became a regular on the TV talk shows and a magazine cover girl. She also picked up three poles and got plenty of the seat time that Rahal was so adamant about, although her much-anticipated first victory never came.
Now, Patrick, teaming with 2004 Indy winner Buddy Rice and rookie Paul Dana at Rahal Letterman, knows it's time for her to win.
"When I look back on last season, it is hard not to get excited for this year," said Patrick, who got married during the off-season. "We had a great season, winning poles and leading several races. I asked myself what is the next step and, logically, I know it is winning races.
Still only 18th start
"That said, Homestead will only be my 18th IndyCar Series start. The stat came out last season that it took on the average 33 starts for a driver to win their first IndyCar race. I won't make my 33rd start until next season. All I can say is that nobody wants me to win more than I do."
Although Patrick likely will be in the spotlight again this weekend, there are plenty of other story lines in the IRL for 2006.
Dan Wheldon became the first driver in the league's history to win both the Indy 500 and the series championship in the same season, setting a record with six race wins. He then, surprisingly, said good-bye to the powerful Andretti Green Racing team, moving to Target Chip Ganassi Racing, which has struggled since Wheldon's new teammate, Scott Dixon, won the series title in 2003.
With both Chevrolet and Toyota withdrawing their engines from the series, all the teams will be using Honda engines in 2006.
Wheldon's departure from Andretti Green did not appear to hurt that team much.
Top teams return
Tony Kanaan, the 2004 series champion, Dario Franchitti and Bryan Herta all return, with Kanaan and Franchitti, last year's second- and fourth-place finishers, expected to battle Wheldon and Marlboro Team Penske drivers Helio Castroneves and two-time IRL champion Sam Hornish Jr. for the 2006 title.
Replacing Wheldon as the fourth full-time driver at AGR will be 18-year-old Marco Andretti, grandson of Mario Andretti and son of Michael Andretti.
The Penske team also is switching from Toyota to Honda engines, and Castroneves and Hornish ranked near the top of the time charts in preseason testing, with Castroneves the most consistent performer each day.
Former Indy winner and team owner Eddie Cheever, who retired in 2002, plans to return to the cockpit for at least the first four races of the season, while two-time Indy winner Al Unser Jr. also plans to return to racing, but not until Indianapolis.
The rest of the field at Homestead will include former series champion Scott Sharp, former Indy winner Buddy Lazier, Tomas Scheckter, Ed Carpenter, Filipe Giaffone, Kosuke Matsuura, Vitor Meira and rookie P.J. Chesson.
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