Q&A: Danica Patrick on 2022 Indy 500 predictions, her 4th race broadcast and favorite Indy moments (2024)

I think just knowing what makes a show great, and how to make it flow and just really working hard with the whole team to create synergy and flow from one segment to the next to really take the viewers on a journey. And so doing a little preparation for that, between, obviously, all of the people on the broadcast and then coming up with the best ways to bridge one segment to another.

Yeah, I actually do think it is: One, because I’m not week in, week out myself, so my scope of current detailed information does not go too deep, being someone that isn’t part of the broadcast team and isn’t there every weekend. And then also, I’m not a technical person anyway. So my information that I share tends to be about how things feel, appear, what’s going on, what’s going through your head, the environment. There’s so many things that aren’t complicated, I feel like, that I’m sharing with people, and that’s just based on my own personal knowledge.

So I think that it flows easily for me to be able to relate things to the fans. I love analogies, and so analogies work great for people that aren’t super dedicated, race-in, race-out fans. Because I will use analogies with other sports or other scenarios to help people understand what’s going on or what something might feel like.

First off, I just think he has such a great personality — always has — and he does a great job in the booth. He’s a natural. But I think that it adds humor because he’s naturally just a really funny guy.

And I think when you look at why anybody watches a singing show or a broadcast team or a crew on ESPN, like [Mike] Wilbon and [Tony] Kornheiser, or just or the the basketball crew [on TNT] with Shaq and Charles Barkley and those guys — when there’s humor involved, it makes the show so much better. It doesn’t take away anything from the information being shared. It just keeps it interesting for the fans. And everybody likes to laugh, so I think he’ll be a great addition because he’s a funny guy.

I really love just being in the rhythm of the track and of the city for so long. Because every other race is just a couple of days and you’re out — or even less nowadays sometimes with some series. I really liked just kind of getting in that rhythm. It really built it up.

Not only did you feel more comfortable, but there was also like that energetic buildup of the magnitude of it, of the value of the race, of the effort put into it to make it go well. It just felt like a big event, and a lot of that had to do with the length of time that we’re here. So that’s kind of what I loved about being a driver in it.

From a spectator/broadcast standpoint, just to be able to watch history. Like, Indianapolis produces historic moments. The one that comes to mind first, of course, was Hélio [Castroneves] winning his fourth [Indy 500] race [in 2021], and to be able to watch that live was really fun. And to not be involved in it at all and care [or] be competitive with them. You’re just able to absorb that from a from a fan perspective. It’s fun.

Gosh, I mean, I personally think it would be so exciting if Hélio won his fifth Indy 500. I just think that that would be such a great story. I loved the fourth, so I think it would just be a huge deal. And he’s such a nice guy!

But, one of these times, [pole-sitter and 2008 Indy 500 winner Scott] Dixon’s got to pull it off again. He’s led so many laps that he’ll obviously be a clear favorite. But I think Alex Palou has been so good and pretty consistent. I think he’s got a great chance. He ran great last year.