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By TONY FABRIZIO | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 4, 2008

PENSKE TAKES THE BLAME

Danica Patrick and Ryan Briscoe blamed each other for their pit-road collision that cost both possible top-five finishes in the Indianapolis 500. Now a third party has come forward to take partial responsibility - team owner Roger Penske, who calls the shots from Briscoe's pit.

"I take the blame, if anyone gets the blame, because it's me sending him out from his pit box," Penske said after Briscoe scored his first Indy Racing League victory Sunday at Milwaukee.

Penske also said he reviewed the overhead shots of the pit-road mishap and deemed it a racing incident. He indicated he is sticking with Briscoe even though the young Australian has been in several crashes in his short open-wheel career.

"When you've got a good race driver, whether it's Mario Andretti or Dale Earnhardt Sr., you have to get to that point where you get over the hill and you've got the confidence."

SHE SAID IT

"Unfortunately, as your popularity grows, so does your anti-fan base. ... There was this guy at Indy. He wore a 'Danica Who?' hat. I was thinking how funny it was, 'Danica Who?' He's got my name on the hat, so he obviously knows who it is." - Danica Patrick, on the reaction she's getting from fans.

Hillary Will became the 11th female, and the third this season, to win an event in one of the NHRA's professional classes when she took the Top Fuel title Sunday at Topeka, Kan.

So, who is she?

She is a 28-year-old former gymnast and collegiate springboard diver from Fortuna, Calif. She is 5-foot-4 and 110 pounds, and she graduated magna cum laude from Wheaton (Mass.) College in 2002 with a degree in economics.

And she was booed like crazy when she appeared during prerace driver introductions at NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600.

"That's because I went up there with Kyle Busch to present him with a sponsor's check for $6,000," she explains in her NHRA.com blog.

Earlier this year, Ashley Force and Melanie Troxel became the first and second women, respectively, to win events in the NHRA's Funny Car class.

Troxel had four previous titles in Top Fuel.

WHO'S HOT

•Toyota has all but taken over the Nationwide Series, winning 10 of 14 races, including the last eight. In Saturday's race at Dover, won by Denny Hamlin, Toyota drivers led 199 of the 200 laps.

•Though still only 16th in points, Matt Kenseth has finished seventh, sixth and fourth in the past three races.

•Greg Biffle has finished second and third the past two races, and in the race before that he led 93 laps before his engine expired. He is up to fifth in the standings.

WHO'S NOT

•Elliott Sadler signed a contract extension with Gillett Evernham Motorsports last week, but he is having a tough year. With finishes of 42nd in two of the past three races, he is 28th in the standings.

•Michael Waltrip has competed in every race, which is a huge improvement over last year. But he hasn't had a finish better than 23rd.

•With only two top-10 finishes in 13 races, 25th-place Casey Mears continues to lag behind at Hendrick Motorsports.

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