the insider: danica patrick

In 2009, Danica Patrick placed third in the Indianapolis 500, the highest female ranking in history. But if that wasn't a big enough accomplishment, the thrill seeker now steps into unchartered waters, lending her voice to BLUR, the latest racing game for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

We sat down with Danica in New York to discuss lucky underpants and crazy gamers.

Have you gotten a chance to play BLUR?   Yes! It's a pretty easy game to play.  I mean, I haven't played much video games since I was like a Nintendo girl, playing Super Mario Kart.  So, I liked that it was easy to play.  I can relate to it, understand it, play it, and be good at it right off the get-go. 

Do you like the way your character looks?  Sure! But, most importantly, I'm fast! So, I think it's an appropriate role for me. 

Any big pre-race superstitions? Lucky Underpants?   Um, I tap my head three times and I pee my pants. It's weird.

Right, that's what I was thinking.  I bet that was your top idea.   No, I really try not to have too many superstitions.  I think that they're complicated because they can end up ruling your life, if you believe in them.

We hear you're big into fashion- if you could pick one designer to collaborate with on a custom race suit, who would you choose? I really like Alice & Olivia, I think they do really cute clothes.  I feel like they fit me… their dresses are flirty and fun, but also functional.

Functional, huh? So you don't race in high heels?  I don't race in high heels! Look, I wore flats today!

You're first car was a… Mustang Cobra.  It was before everyone had mustangs so they were still kind of cool. It was black and it was manual transmission.  And my dad thought I needed a fast car to stay out of trouble, which was a really ironic thought, because it usually gets you into trouble…I'm like, “Ooh-kay! Okay! Good idea, Dad!”

Well that set you on quite a path.  Yeah, exactly!  I learned how to drive manual transmission, how important.

At the age of 16.  Think I was driving it at 15. Whoops.