Patrick returns to Iowa

She hadn’t raced in the state since she was a kid.

NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — The last time Danica Patrick raced in Iowa, it was in a go-kart.

Patrick has come a long way from the small Midwest tracks she cut her teeth on as a kid growing up in nearby Illinois.

She enters Sunday’s inaugural Iowa Corn Indy 250 at the Rusty Wallace-designed Iowa Speedway as the featured attraction for what is probably the biggest auto race in the state’s history.

That sort of hype is nothing new for Patrick. But for the first time this season, she’s got momentum as well, thanks to her career-best effort on June 9 at the Texas Speedway.

Finished third in Texas

Patrick mounted a late charge and finished third, just one week after her infamous spat with Dan Wheldon on pit row following an on-track collision at Milwaukee. Her performance in Texas has revived the questions about when she will finally win a race.

“It going to happen. When it happens, it will probably be when I least expect it,” Patrick said Friday. “I find it a lot more beneficial just thinking to myself and finding ways to maximize everything and go faster in every little area that I possibly can. I think that’s been working for me well the last few races.”

Patrick has never finished higher than ninth in the points standings in her first two seasons on the IndyCar circuit.

Despite her well-publicized jump to Andretti Green, things didn’t look promising early this season, as she finished out of the top five in each of her first six races.

But she took her first lead of the season at Texas, surviving a multicar crash to give winner Sam Hornish Jr. a major scare down the stretch.

She also gave Andretti Green the kind of finish she’s been hoping for since jumping to one of IndyCar’s top teams.

“It’s obviously a good sign that things are going better. I’m getting along with my engineer well. We’re starting to really understand each other, and most importantly he’s understanding me,” said Patrick of Andretti Green’s Martin Pare. “I only know how to drive one way. I only know how to communicate the way the car feels to me one way, so that relationship takes some time.”

Likes new track

Patrick, like many of the drivers, has praised the new track at the Iowa Speedway, which opened in 2006 with hopes of making an IndyCar race its marquee event.

The 0.875-mile track features variable banking, and the early word from drivers who have driven on the track is that it will run faster than its size and offer room for passing.

It’s tough to tell whether the short oval setup will help or hurt Patrick. She’s finished 10th and 15th at Richmond — the only track smaller than Iowa — but came in fourth at Milwaukee in 2006.