Danica Patrick knows that she'll be under an even bigger spotlight when she makes her Sprint Cup debut Feb. 26 at the Daytona 500.
So how is she going to react? By going all honey badger, of course.
"And the honey badger, it was last year, I think, somebody showed me this video of the honey badger, and the commentator on it was very, very funny," Patrick said between test sessions at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday. "Anyway, the honey badger, he doesn't give a crap, he takes what he wants.�And that's how I'm going to be this year, like a honey badger.�But I feel like it's a little diluted with the football player that has the honey badger nickname, too.�He's No.�7, as well."
[Check out more pictures of Danica Patrick]
The football player she's referring to, of course, is LSU cornerback Tyrann Mathieu. LSU lost 21-0 to Alabama in Monday night's BCS title game.
"I bet he's not feeling like a honey badger.�I bet -- anyway, the video is great," Patrick said. "He eats a poisonous snake and he falls asleep and wakes right back up.�The video is funny, so I encourage you all to watch that.�I think Randall something is the commentator or the name on the YouTube video.
"I don't know, it's a mindset.�I even have a honey badger picture on my screen saver on my phone to inspire me.�It takes what it wants."
[Related: Daytona 500 Day 2 testing results]
Patrick may want to harness the honey badger in her a little bit during the Daytona 500 if Thursday's test session was any indication. NASCAR has introduced rules designed to inhibit the two-car tandem drafting that has become prevalent at restrictor plate tracks Daytona and Talladega, but teams were still experimenting with the tandems anyway.
After transitioning from the Izod IndyCar Series, Patrick is scheduled to race 10 times in the Sprint Cup Series and run a full schedule in the Nationwide Series. She had success in the July Nationwide race at Daytona, leading laps and finishing 10th while she crashed crossing the finish line.
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