Originally Posted on foxsports.com on June 7, 2007.
Taking a page from the Humpy Wheeler playbook, Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage has billed the next IRL race, which happens to be at his track on Saturday, as "The Rumble at the Speedway."
Pitting Dan "The Battlin' Brit" Wheldon against Danica "The Phoenix Firebird" Patrick in their follow up bout, Gossage is attempting to generate ticket sales and media coverage of the event. Prominently displaying Wheldon & Patrick's pictures on the TMS webpage, with a "Tale of the Tape," TMS is betting that racing fans will be watching the two as they head to the track.
And it appears that the two are ignoring the spat, and waiting for the other to make the first move to amend the situation.
USATODAY, quoting AP, reports that Patrick has no intention of apologizing to Wheldon. But Wheldon isn't holding his breath waiting for one either, "She acted a certain way and if she wants to look at the video, I think she'll be feeling pretty silly. ... If she wants to come and apologize, I would be very happy to listen."
But Wheldon feels that Patrick took advantage of the situation "When you tug at a guy in the pit lane, I think that is taking advantage of your gender, because it puts me in an awkward position," Wheldon said. "She was acting like a spoiled brat. I don't respect that. ... I tried to step away. She kept grabbing on me like a dog that wanted to bite my ankles."
Patrick, however, believes Wheldon deliberately cut her off. "We'll see how it unfolds, and we're going to have to give each other respect and the space on the track," Patrick said. "If that happens, then I can't see a reason why it would continue. But if he doesn't, then I'll be mad again."
Meanwhile, we'll see if Gossage's promotion sells more tickets. If so, IRL may want to keep the Wheldon-Patrick dispute going for a few weeks to come.
Information from AP, USATODAY.COM and TexasMotorspeedway.com
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