Rahal warns Patrick: Grass won't be greener

Naturally, Bobby Rahal was disappointed. But the 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner seemed more defiant in his reaction to Danica Patrick's decision to defect from Rahal Letterman Racing next season to drive for the Andretti Green Racing team co-owned by former driver Michael Andretti.

``I guess if that's what she feels she has to do, that's what she has to do," Rahal said Thursday by phone from Los Angeles, where he was en route to San Jose, Calif., to watch his 17-year-old son, Graham, compete in yesterday's Champ Car Atlantics race.

``I've seen it before, the grass is always greener [elsewhere]," Rahal said. ``As I told her, every driver who ever left us was looking to come back one year later, so I hope it doesn't happen to her, but we shall see."

Patrick said it was ``a really tough call" to leave the team co-owned by Rahal and TV personality David Letterman. Rahal Letterman, after all, carefully escorted Patrick in her rise to fame and fortune. She won Indy Racing League and Indy 500 Rookie of the Year honors in 2005 after she finished fourth in the Indy 500, becoming the first woman in the history of the race to lead laps.

``Obviously, the fact she led the race at Indy -- which was mostly because of our strategy -- that made it a very exciting moment for the sport," Rahal said. ``And she's been living off that since then."

But the 24-year-old, raven-haired racer seemed to sideswipe everyone at RLR when she remarked one of the reasons she was leaving was because Andretti Green offered her a better opportunity to win and further her career goals, which, it appeared, seemed to include aspirations to drive in NASCAR.

``I take a lot of time and consideration in the things that I do for my career, no matter what decision it is, but this one definitely is a big one," Patrick told the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch. ``It's hard to ignore the great things that Rahal Letterman has done for me, and they are a strong team. But I wanted to stay in the Indy Racing League as long as there was a team that was going to give me the best chance to win, and nobody has won more than [Andretti Green]."

In the past 2 1/2 seasons, Andretti Green has won back-to-back IRL IndyCar titles with Tony Kanaan (2004) and last year with Dan Wheldon, now with the Target Chip Ganassi Racing team. AGR has compiled a series-leading 11 victories, including Kanaan's triumph in last weekend's race at Milwaukee.

``As I say, people make decisions for all kinds of reasons, and just because somebody's winning today doesn't mean they're going to win tomorrow," said Rahal, whose team will show up, with Patrick in tow, for today's IndyCar Series race at Michigan International Speedway. ``As I said, the grass is always greener and invariably it isn't and people find that out after the fact. I've seen it before, and there's no reason to think it can't happen again. For us, it's just a matter of making sure we're successful no matter who's with us or who's left us.

``We don't think she made a very good decision, but that's not for us to [question]. I mean, it's irrelevant for us."

Patrick will be paired with Kanaan and Andretti's 19-year-old son, Marco, who captured Indy 500 Rookie of the Year honors in May for his stirring runner-up finish to winner Sam Hornish Jr.

Rahal Letterman Racing, meanwhile, has not won a race since Buddy Rice's triumph in the 2004 Indy 500. RLR's 2005 season got off to a tragic start when rookie driver Paul Dana was killed during a practice session on the morning of the IRL season opener at Homestead-Miami Speedway, prompting Team Rahal Letterman to park its cars for the race.

Only recently, though, has the team enjoyed some success with the switch from a Panoz to a new Dallara chassis, which resulted in back-to-back fourth-place finishes for Patrick at Nashville and Milwaukee.

Jeff Simmons, the 30-year-old Boston College graduate from Hartford, who replaced Dana, recorded a career-best seventh-place finish at Nashville and qualified fastest (sixth) out of RLR's three entries at Milwaukee, where he finished ninth.

``I think we're committed to winning," Rahal said. ``We went out and bought three new Dallaras this year and worked our tails off to make sure the drivers had them. At the time, she was very appreciative of that, but, obviously, in the end it wasn't enough. That's life. We're not going to let her departure upset what we're doing.

``Our team is resilient and whatever reason she gave for leaving, they're her reasons. As far as we're concerned, we'll just keep going on."

Patrick's decision to sign with Andretti Green effectively squashed the rampant speculation she was headed to NASCAR after her father, T.J., had been invited to the USG Sheetrock 400 Nextel Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway July 9 as a guest of car owner Jack Roush.

But Rahal knew all along ``it was just smoke."

``I don't think that she was anywhere close to looking at [NASCAR]," Rahal said. ``I think that was more her father than it was her. He's got his own agenda, which makes things interesting. I don't think that was real.

``I know her and -- yeah, maybe one day -- but she'll have far more impact on the sport if she's able to win Indy or anything else rather than going to NASCAR.

``I doubt she'd have much of a chance to do anything in NASCAR because that world down there, it's a different world. Ask Scott Pruett about what happens when you go down there and you're not part of the family.

``So I don't think it was real at all."

But Patrick insisted to the Associated Press yesterday that her possible move to NASCAR was not just hype. ``I'm not lying when I say we had offers," she said. ``And, I'm not lying when I said I was interested.

``I'm not going to write that off for my future. I think it would be fun, eventually, but my heart is in IndyCar right now. I'm not done here."

NASCAR Nextel Cup driver Kurt Busch used the off week to get married to Eva Caroline Bryan of Norfolk, Va., in the Virginia Beach area on the same date -- July 27 -- they met on a blind date three years ago and were engaged last year. Busch will return for next weekend's Allstate Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway . . . ESPN announced Friday that the 2007 Allstate Brickyard 400, which will move to July 29 next season, will become the first Nextel Cup Series event televised on the cable network since 2000. ``The Allstate 400 at the Brickyard is one of NASCAR's major races," said NASCAR president Mike Helton. ``Indianapolis is a great place for ESPN's return to Nextel Cup, as well as a great place to kick off the ABC/ESPN season every year." . . . Bobby Ginn, 57, president and founder of the Celebration, Fla.-based Ginn Resorts, last week bought out Nelson Bowers's 80 percent majority stake in MB2 Motorsports and will partner with Jay Frye, MB2's general manager, to continue fielding cars for Sterling Marlin, Joe Nemechek, and, possibly, a third driver. ``We recognize the importance and relevance of NASCAR fans and sponsors to the overall success of our brand," Ginn said, ending any rumors that MB2 was looking to merge with another Nextel Cup team. ``We needed to have a strong identity, something to differentiate ourselves vs. other teams," Frye said. ``We have an opportunity to expand, and we're much better positioned for the future." . . . Prayers and best wishes go out to Benny Parsons, the affable 1973 NASCAR champion and NBC/TNT Nextel Cup analyst who was diagnosed last week with lung cancer. Parsons, 65, says he last smoked in 1978 and no longer even allows anyone to smoke in his foursome on the golf course. ``Needless to say, this was a huge shock," Parsons said in a statement. ``I've got a great deal of faith in all of my physicians, including Dr. Steven Limenpani, who treated NASCAR car owner Rick Hendrick during his battle with leukemia. I'm determined to pull through this and I appreciate everyone's concerns and prayers during this time." Brian France, NASCAR's chairman and CEO whose own father, Bill France Jr., has been undergoing treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer, issued a statement, saying, ``NASCAR is saddened to learn about Benny Parsons's battle with cancer. As one who has seen this battle fought head-on in my own family, I am confident that with the support of his family and the entire NASCAR community, Benny will show all of us, once again, why he is a true champion."

Material from personal interviews, wire services, various sanctioning bodies, race teams, sponsors, and track publicity departments was used in this report.