by Chris Estrada, Special to FOXSports.com

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But once the checkered flag waved at the 92nd running of "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing," she looked ready to pick a fight — no matter whether it was another driver or a member of her own team.

The 2008 Indy 500 appears set to go down as one of Patrick's career lowlights. While not considered a favorite, she certainly had a fair chance to become the first female to win IRL IndyCar Series' premier event. Her shot at history ended in chaos, however, when Ryan Briscoe ran into her on pit road with 29 laps remaining.

With her car's rear suspension mangled beyond repair, the 5-foot-2 racer got out of the car and went straight for Briscoe's Team Penske pit stall. If not for security crews directing her away from her destination, she may have tried to go through every one of them to get to their Australian driver.

"It is probably best that I didn't get down there anyway, isn't it?," she said after the race.

Up to that point, Patrick was creeping toward the front, but it was clear that her No. 7 Andretti Green Racing machine simply didn't have the speed to battle with eventual winner and polesitter Scott Dixon and the other front-runners. She ran as high as sixth during the 200-lap contest but couldn't advance from there, and she let her team know her displeasure.

"I am slow," an angry Patrick said over the radio with about 60 laps left. "I am damn slow!"

Patrick's lack of speed was a sore point for her throughout the day as she complained repeatedly over the matter before rising to her best position of the race.

When she came into the pits for what would be her final stop, her chances of winning were slim. After running into Briscoe, they were zero. Her anger boiled over.

Patrick may or may not be right in her beliefs about her race-ending accident, but with her attention-grabbing march toward the Penske pits, she gave her critics more ammunition to back their assertions that she is nothing more than an over-hyped, under-talented driver that turns petulant when things don't go her way.

Even more surprising was how she let her AGR crew know about her lack of speed on race day. Patrick has always been an emotional racer, but why couldn't she communicate her frustrations in a better manner than what a worldwide television audience heard earlier this afternoon?

It can be chalked up to Danica being Danica. It can be chalked up to the pressure of winning the biggest race of the season. No matter what, though, even if you're justified, it's best for every driver to give his or her crew respect. You would think that she'd have that lesson down pat, especially after winning her first race in April at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan by way of a diabolically good fuel strategy from her engineer Kyle Moyer.

What started out as a day of promise and optimism degenerated into frustration for Patrick — and perhaps the IndyCar Series as well. After hyping the Illinois native throughout the month, their audience ended up seeing her be a non-factor in the race and then almost set off a smackdown. Good first impression of the reborn Indy 500. For sure.

Does Danica have a right to be mad? Of course. She ran well during the month of May activities and had earned the press that proclaimed her one of the legitimate contenders. However, that doesn't excuse her from how she chose to vent her emotions after seeing her day end with a thud.

Now, Patrick has to go make up with her team. Now, she has to try and settle this peacefully with Briscoe.

Now, her detractors have a reason to hate her that's actually legitimate.

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