JUNE 11, 2005

Danica for Indianapolis

Danica Patrick is expected to be present at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday next week as the Formula 1 teams get ready for the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis. The star of the Indianapolis 500 and the darling of the American media at the moment, Danica may conceivably get herself into a BAR-Honda Formula 1 car for a demonstration run but the details of that are still under discussion although the team is understood to be very keen on the idea. Patrick and Jenson Button raced together in Formula Ford in Britain some years ago and are old friends.

Patrick will not be around for the race itself because she has to fly to Los Angeles for the world premiere of Herbie: Fully Loaded, a Walt Disney picture. Disney is sponsoring Patrick this weekend in the IRL race in Texas with a Herbie logo on her Rahal Letterman Racing Panoz-Honda. The deal extends to the next race as well, which will be held at Richmond International Raceway in Virginia.

"We are thrilled to partner with the Indy 500 Rookie of the Year Danica Patrick and her Rahal Letterman Racing Team," said Oren Aviv, President of Buena Vista Pictures Marketing. "In the crowded summer marketplace, we are always looking for opportunities to set our films apart from the rest. Just as Patrick has recently taken the racing world by storm, we know our own Herbie will be turning heads when he races into theatres on June 22."

Herbie, the beloved VW Beetle, that has been appearing in films since the 1970s.