SPEEDtv.com fans voted Danica's determined drive as the best from the IndyCar Series race at Long Beach. (SPEED)
Going into last weekend's Long Beach Grand Prix IndyCar race, few would have picked Danica Patrick to star on Sunday, thanks to a frustrating qualifying session that left the Andretti-Green driver in 22nd place.
A clean opening stint kept Patrick free of the crashes and carnage unfolding in front of the Ohio-native, and with a combination of well-timed pit stops and a focused, determined effort behind the wheel, Danica moved to the lead pack towards the end of the race.
A string of fast laps kept pressure on the drivers in front of Patrick's Motorola-sponsored Dallara Honda, securing 4th place at the checkered flag, just one second behind AGR teammate Tony Kanaan.
SPEEDtv.com's readers recognized Patrick's march from 22nd to 4th by giving her 36% of the vote. Dario Franchitti came second in the SPEEDtv.com poll at 29%, followed by Will Power at 26%, Tony Kanaan at 5% and Dan Wheldon at 3%.
Patrick was appreciative to have earned the "Drive of the Race" award as voted by our readers.
“I’m really proud of the Motorola crew for helping me get the top-five in Long Beach. It was a rough weekend for sure, but we worked really hard and the hard work showed off at the end. We were able to gain 18 spots throughout the race, which is pretty amazing. I want to thank all the fans at SPEEDtv.com for taking the time to vote – hope to be able to give you all a great show in Kansas this weekend.”
