Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Patrick not concerned about F1 boss’s foot in mouth

Wednesday, June 22, 2005 | 9:20 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at bh@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4089.

As if Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone didn't have enough problems this past weekend with his ill-fated attempt to stage a full-field race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he managed to offend at least half the world's population with an appallingly ignorant comment directed at women.

Ecclestone was speaking to reporters early in the United States Grand Prix weekend when he was asked about Indy Racing League rookie sensation Danica Patrick, who finished fourth in last month's Indianapolis 500.

"She did a good job, didn't she? Super. Didn't think she'd be able to make it like that," Ecclestone was quoted by numerous media sources as saying.

Ecclestone then added: "You know, I've got one of these wonderful ideas that women should be all dressed in white like all the other domestic appliances."

Patrick said she was not surprised when Ecclestone's comments were reported because he said virtually the same thing to her during a telephone conversation a couple days earlier, she said.

"He did call me on the phone and he told me those things," Patrick said Tuesday during a national teleconference. "It just didn't make sense. I was surprised somebody would say that to me so in the days after, when it actually came out in the press, people were asking me, 'what do you think of that?' I'm like, 'he told me that on the phone and I can't believe that he would say that ... to me, over the phone -- not to my face, but directly to me.

"I was a bit confused (because) some of the conversation was positive and complimentary, so I don't really know what to think about it."

Patrick, who posted the best finish by a female driver in the 89-year history of the Indy 500, said she won't lose any sleep over Ecclestone's comments.

"(Whether) he was talking about someone else or the majority (of women) or what -- I'm not really sure," Patrick said. "Or, maybe that's his real feeling and then, if that's the case, then it doesn't really matter because I'm racing in the Indy Racing League."

CASTRONEVES OK: Helio Castroneves escaped serious injury last Friday when he crashed during a Toyota engine test at Richmond International Raceway.

Castroneves suffered a deep shoulder bruise but said it would not prevent him from racing in Saturday night's SunTrust Indy Challenge at Richmond.

Castroneves is coming off a fifth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway and is seventh in the IRL IndyCar Series standings, 109 points behind front-running Dan Wheldon.

ONE FOR THE FAMILY: Marco Andretti earned his family's first victory as a driver at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway since his grandfather, Mario, won the 1969 Indy 500 when he led all 25 laps in Saturday's IRL Infiniti Pro Series race on the IMS road course.

Andretti, 18, has won both IPS road course/street races he has entered this season and finished 16th on the IMS oval last month.

Andretti's father, Michael, was the winning car owner for Dan Wheldon in this year's Indianapolis 500.

OUTLAWS UPDATE: Steve Kinser earned his 12th World of Outlaws main-event victory of the season and 525th of his illustrious career at the Eagle Nationals Saturday night in Eagle (Neb.) Raceway.

It marked the 10th Eagle Nationals title for Kinser, who continues to lead the WoO standings with a 266-point margin over Craig Dollansky. ...

Joey Saldana missed Saturday's feature race at Eagle Raceway after suffering a concussion in a crash during a heat race the night before. A WoO spokesman said Saldana was recovering at his Indiana home and is expected to return to the track July 1-2 in West Fargo, N.D.