Danica Patrick's keys to victory at Indy

Sporting new colors, Danica Patrick can win at Indy on Sunday, but it sure won't be easy. Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

INDIANAPOLIS -- For the 33 drivers who will start Sunday's Indianapolis 500, there are plenty of keys and strategies that will get one of them into victory lane in the World's Biggest Race.

As the highest-profile driver in the field, Danica Patrick will be the focus of plenty of attention from the fans and the media.

If Patrick wins the race, she would make history by becoming the first female driver to win racing's biggest event. A victory by Patrick would stand the test of time and be one of the most memorable moments in the history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as it celebrates its 100th Anniversary.

But in order to have her face etched on the Borg-Warner Trophy, Patrick will have to devise a plan to be first to the checkered flag.

So, what are the keys for Patrick to win the Indy 500?

Have A Race Car Capable Of Passing On The Track And In The Pits

Patrick will start 10th on Race Day, and, while it's not at the front, the inside of Row 4 is a pretty good starting position for any driver in the field. The first key at that point is to have a car that works well in traffic and can systematically drive through the field in the first portion of the race.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is fast and narrow, which means it's difficult to pass. But Patrick has displayed a penchant for finding a way to the lead group of cars, either by making passes on the track or through pit stops in the race.

"In the past, the qualifying has been reasonably good, but it's a matter of staying there," Patrick said. "I think that's going to be the real focus, is just to not drop back and to not lose positions on the track on starts or restarts, to stay on top of the car throughout the race and keep up with the way that the track is changing, and then to have really clean pit stops."

Stay Out Of Trouble On Pit Road

Patrick's race was ruined last year when she and Ryan Briscoe collided trying to exit the pits. Patrick was so furious at Briscoe that she climbed out of the race car and began to march down pit road toward his Team Penske pit area before she was intercepted by Charles Burns, the director of corporate security at IMS. While a confrontation was avoided, Patrick learned a lesson from that incident.

"I think that's going to have to be a really, really big focus for me -- getting in and out of the pits and getting in and out of the box at full speed all the time," Patrick said. "If we do those things well, I believe that we can stay there. Then it will be a shootout in the end."

Control Her Temper

See the above incident or the confrontations she has had with Dan Wheldon at Milwaukee or Milka Duno at Mid-Ohio last year.

"I've learned from the past," Patrick said. "Look, the emotional Danica is still there, but there's a time and a place. The time and place is not every weekend. So it's just easier. I think I always felt in the past like I had to prove to people that I cared and that I wasn't happy being fifth or 12th or something by being mad. It just doesn't really pay off, and it turns people off. It's a lot easier and a lot more fun to be relaxed.

"It's all bunnies and rainbows around here."

Have A Fast Race Car In Traffic

It's one thing to have a fast IndyCar in four-lap qualifications, but it's much different to have one that is fast in traffic.

Even on the 2-1/2-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, traffic will be a key on Race Day. Having a car that excels in "dirty air" -- the turbulence of the air from the cars on the track -- is vitally important.

"It's different from every other track really because it's the kind of place that if the car isn't right, you cannot make it go fast," Patrick said. "You can't hustle it around. You just can't make it do it. If you do, quickly the car gets out of control and the track bites you. We're going faster here than anywhere else. I think it's really the one place that we go that the track is sort of a little bit bigger and more powerful than you are. And I think that that makes it really something that you have to respect.

"If the car isn't good, don't think you can be better than it, don't think you can overcome it. I think every now and again you get on with the track really well. I feel lucky that Indy's a place that I've had good races here in the past and been fast."