In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, racing superstar Danica Patrick got herself into a bit of hot water when the subject of performance-enhancing drugs came up. When asked if she would take illegal drugs if she would not get caught, she responded by saying "Well, then it's not cheating, is it? If nobody finds out?'' She also spoke of exploring gray areas to gain an edge on her opponents, saying "You're trying to find where the holes are in the rule book.'' That, apparently, wasn't the answer U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart was looking for.

Tygart called Patrick's comments "totally irresponsible," and that her statement flies in the face of what millions of parents teach their kids every day. Danica replied to the criticism she's received with a 'just kidding' defense, which doesn't seem to be getting herself off the hook. We get where Tygart is coming from, but that fact that he made such a big deal of her comments gave the story a whole lot more publicity than it has already gotten. Last we checked, Danica hasn't tested positive for banned substances. And judging from her swimsuit photos in SI and her GoDaddy commercials, Ms. Patrick appears to be toning up the old fashioned way.



[Source: Fan House | Images: SI.com]

On Saturday we asked you in a poll if you care about the Indianapolis 500. The number one response with 40% of the vote was, "I never cared in the first place." Well, at least one of us here at Autoblog cared enough to watch the race on TV yesterday, but that couldn't stop long stretches of napping from eating up up dozens of laps at a time. A few interesting things happened while I was awake, including perennial Indy bridesmaid Tony Kannan crashing at the Brickyard for the third time in eight appearances. I was also awoken late in the race by another crash, this time between Vitor Meira and rookie Raphael Matos. The two collided on Turn 1 and Meira's car ended up sliding along the wall on its side. We later learned the veteran driver had broken two vertebrae in his back, while Matos escaped with just a bruised knee. This isn't NASCAR, though, and we're not supposed to watch for the crashes, so I downed some caffeine after that to stay alert until the race's conclusion. Read on after the jump to find out who won this year's running of the 2009 Indianapolis 500.

Go Daddy commercials are well known for two things: 1) Having little to do with web hosting and domains, and 2) Making use of attractive women in suggestive situations. During the Super Bowl, Go Daddy threw racer Danica Patrick into a shower with a college German instructor. The two girls theme continues with a new spot that places Ms. Patrick in a vintage Ford Mustang convertible with a sultry female police officer that seems quite excited about web hosting.

To Go Daddy's credit, there is a lot more service selling in this 30 second spot, which predictably ends with a disrobing followed by an invitation to head over to GoDaddy.com to see what happens next. Go Daddy founder and CEO Bob Parsons called the teaser and full two minute web-only spot "the hottest commercial we've ever made." No arguments here. Hit the jump to view the 30-second teaser for yourself, followed by the Go Daddy press release detailing the airtime plans during this weekend's Indianapolis 500 race.

[Source: YouTube]

Got Milk? It's one of the most successful marketing campaigns of all time. IndyCar driver and femme fatale of the front straight, Danica Patrick, has signed on to shill for the bovine beverage in one of those very familiar advertisements that features popular athletes and celebrities with a wet upper lip. Nevermind the fact that milk only sticks to your lip like that if you've got the beginnings of a good mustache going on, or that what's on Danica's lip is probably a gooey special effects paste. If you sense some disdain in my voice, that's probably because I haven't had a glass of milk since 2000 when I read a book in college and the next day stopped eating animals and drinking their fluids. I haven't bought into the "does a body good" argument since a doctor once described the nutritional properties of milk to me as "liquid beef". That's why I always frown when I see another athlete or celebrity holding a glass of milk with a smile that looks like they've gulped a gallon of White Out.

The tagline in Danica's ad is "Refuel", because I guess the Milk Processors of America who pay for the ads would have us believe that Bessy's breast milk has the same restorative powers as Gatorade. The rest of the copy reminds you to eat right, exercise and drink milk, because you're going to be healthy anyway if you do the first two things, so what's a glass of milk going hurt?

NOTE: The hippy propaganda in this post does not represent the views of Autoblog, its parent company or the rest of the Autoblog editorial team who are all blood-dripping-from-the-teeth carnivores and no doubt pouring glasses of 2% right now just to taunt me.



[Source: BodybyMilk.com]

Every year, TIME magazine publishes its list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The list is typically comprised of government leaders, business titans and high-profile celebrities, and this year's, which just hit the shelves, is no different. Among those included in the ranking for 2009 are Ford CEO Alan Mullaly and perennial IndyCar favorite Danica Patrick.

Lauding Mullaly for forgoing government handouts – a decision that has increased Ford's popularity – Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer highlights Mullaly's career in guiding Boeing Aerospace through the tumultuous post-9/11 period and ushering Ford into a new era. Danica Patrick, meanwhile, earned the citation for braking through the sound barrier glass ceiling by becoming the first woman to win an IndyCar race, earning the respect of her male colleagues in the process. London Mayor, part-time automotive journalist and all-around friend of the automobile and motorist Boris Johnson also made the list among the other decision-makers and opinion-shapers mentioned on the Time list. Follow the link to view the list in full.

[Source: TIME | Photo (left) by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty]

Danica Patrick just might make it into Formula One after all. The sensational IndyCar driver/Sports Illustrated swimsuit model was previously linked to a potential seat with Honda's F1 team, but those prospects were all but completely dashed when the squad closed up shop. But now the people behind the upcoming USF1 team could give Danica the ticket she deserves.

According to USF1 technical director Ken Andserson, Danica is one of the star American drivers which the team would consider hiring when they hit the grid in 2010. Among the other possible candidates are Red Bull-backed Scott Speed, who switched over to NASCAR after leaving Scuderia Toro Rosso in F1, and budding American drivers Conor Daly and Josef Newgarden. Each F1 team fields two cars, so any of these drivers' chances are pretty good. Meanwhile, USF1 is considering renting space from Epsilon Euskadi, a team which currently races at Le Mans and in the World Series by Renault, and whose facility in Spain would prove a suitable European base for the American team. We'll know more about the initiative when USF1 is officially launched on February 24, so stay tuned. Shukran for the tip, Muhammed!

[Source: ESPN]

Danica Patrick may not be doing as well on the race track as she may like, but the fetching driver is definitely winning off the track. Ms. Patrick has an endorsement deal with Go Daddy, she made FHM's top 100 Sexiest Women list, and now she's added a second appearance in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. The newly appointed Queen of Speed is taking the annual bikini mag very seriously, too, and if she has her way, this won't be her last appearance in the swimsuit spectacular. She's working out every day to keep her body fit, and the evidence of that labor is very apparent in the video posted after the jump and the gallery below. We're certain we don't have to tell you that watching Danica and her little black bikini pose on the hood of a beautiful AC Cobra is worth your time. Thanks for the tip, Scot, S!


[Source: Sports Illustrated via Fanhouse]

For the past few Super Bowls, internet registrar GoDaddy.com has spent a sizable portion of its annual ad budget on one or two commercials. The tradition lives on for 2009's big game, and racing's most famous female driver is back with Go Daddy for another starring role. You may remember last year's "Exposure" spot was pulled by Fox due to excessive use of beavers (really), so Go Daddy implored the audience of 100 million to go to the website to see it online. This time, Danica has two commercials, which, keeping with tradition, feature plenty of cleavage and little reference to what Go Daddy actually does.

You can check out both spots after the jump. The first 30 second spot includes a naked Danica in the shower with an attractive German lady (we're not kidding). The second commercial features Ms. Patrick in a courtroom with several extremely busty women talking about "Enhancements." And of course, each commercial ends abruptly, prompting viewers to head over to GoDaddy.com to watch the "unrated" conclusion. Brilliant. Terrible scriptwriting, but brilliant.

[Source: Ad Rants]

Some people we'll just never understand. Like those who'll look at a high-performance sports car and ask, "But where are you going to drive it?" Or the cops in Scottsdale, Arizona, who have given a speeding ticket to Danica Patrick yet again.

Never mind that for many police officers, a pretty girl batting her eyes would be enough to, um, get off...with a warning. And Danica's a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, for crying out loud. But the IRL's perennial favorite driver, former rookie of the year, winner of the Japan 300 and potential future F1 pilot was only going 54 miles-per-hour. Granted, that it was in a 35 mph zone, but come on. Danica's used to going 200 with her silky hair on fire. The last time she got pulled over in Scottsdale (home to her sponsor GoDaddy.com), she was ticketed for going 57 in a 40 zone. We've heard it before, nobody's above the law, yadda yadda yadda.... but somehow, this just ain't right.



[Source: azcentral.com]

Click above to view video after the jump

An altercation between the two admittedly attractive female drivers in the IndyCar Series has all the makings for a sensational headline, and in this case Danica Patrick and Milka Duno backed it up by tangling in the pits last Saturday after a practice session for the Honda Indy 200. Patrick, as she has done twice before, walked all the way to her competitor's pit stall to address a grievance. She simply asked Dreyer & Reinbold Racing's driver, who looked like she just stepped out of a salon, if she had seen her on the track. Apparently Patrick was miffed that Milka wasn't letting faster cars like her No. 7 Motorola Dallara Honda pass during practice. Milka was having none of it and twice threw a towel at Patrick while telling her to "go away". Such is a pretty normal day in the IndyCar Series with Danica Patrick on the prowl. For the record, neither lady performed particularly well in the actual race on Sunday, with Milka finishing 23rd out of 26 and Danica placing 12th. Check out video of these brunettes battling after the jump. Thanks for the tip, Art!

[Source: FOX Sports, Three Strikes and Out]