Danica Patrick: Time To Start The IndyCar Season

The Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 will be Danica Patrick's first attempt at a possible Top Five finish this year.

The Izod IndyCar series began their season four races ago in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Patrick will begin to seriously race for points when she returns to the oval track at Kansas City Speedway this coming weekend.

Presently, she is lounging 16th in the points standings.  Her ranking reflects her dislike of street courses.

Kansas City Speedway is a 1.5 mile tri-oval with 15 degree banking in the turns, 10.4 degree banking on the front stretch, and five degrees on the back stretch.  The track is 55 feet wide.

Danica's best finish was fifth at this track in 2009.  Her worst finish was 19th in 2008.

There are eight races on oval style tracks.  Unfortunately, the remaining five races revert back to the circuitous type that are problematic for Patrick.

If Danica is to prove she can finish even close to fifth in points for the IndyCar series like she did in 2009, it is imperative she becomes competitive quickly.

The dream of winning the Indianapolis 500 is at the top of the list for any open-wheel driver.

Danica would like to add that to her resume before she makes the jump to NASCAR.

The driver of the GoDaddy.com car owned by Andretti Autosport will give us insight as to her desire to win this weekend in Kansas.

If she has a mediocre finish there, it is possible her success at Indianapolis may be in doubt.

In late June, Danica will return to the NASCAR Nationwide series driving the GoDaddy.com No. 7 Chevy for JR Motorsports.

It is no secret she plans to work her way into the top tier of NASCAR, where she plans to prove herself as a Sprint Cup driver.

It just may be that splitting the driving duties between stock cars and open-wheel cars is distracting to her.

She has a chance to prove she can finish well on the ovals at the Road Runner Turbo Indy 300.

For Danica Patrick, the season begins now in the Izod IndyCar series.