Racecar driver Danica Patrick hasn't been too pleased with the way competitor David Gilliland has been treating her lately, taking particular offense to how he raced her Sunday at Kansas Speedway.
“He tries to take me out every time,” Patrick said over the team radio during the STP 400, according to Indystar.com. “Tell his spotter that I’m coming after him if he does it again. In fact, I might just do it right now.”
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Patrick didn’t seek retribution for Gilliland's move, nor did she conduct any post-race interviews.
Gilliland, on the other hand, responded to Patrick's threat after finishing 23rd in the race.
“Shut up and race,” he told her, through his PR rep.
Patrick and Gilliland often occupy the same part of the racetrack, according to the USA Today. The two are well outside the top 20 in points. In that race, she ended up 25th, her best intermediate track finish of 2013.
Patrick is considered the most successful openwheel racing woman, as the only one to win a race in the IndyCar Series and hold the highest finish -- third place -- at the Indianapolis 500.
Patrick is currently sponsored by GoDaddy.
David Gilliland is the son of former Cup and West Coast driver Butch Gilliland. He got his start with his father's AutoZone West Series team in the '90s and is a national competitor. Gilliland
The fact that Gilliland ended up beating her and made a boastful remark weren't the only two reasons Patrick was upset that day. While she was competing, a piece of litter that landed on the front grille of her No. 10 Chevrolet, causing the water temperature inside the car to rise, forcing an unscheduled pit stop that dropped her from the lead lap to two laps down.
“We started out pretty good, but we just got tight in the second half of the race,” Patrick said in a team release. “We had a tire rub at one point and issues with the splitter from some contact we made. The trash on the grille was what really hurt us today.”
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