INDIANAPOLIS - DANICA Patrick did not win in Sunday's Indianapolis 500, one of motor racing's biggest races. She did not even come close, really.

But she managed to remain the centre of attention after a pit road accident left her strutting menacingly toward a rival driver's pit stall.

'It's probably a better idea that I didn't make it all the way down there anyway,' she said. 'Because, well, as you guys know, I'm a little emotional.'

After a late-race, run-in with Ryan Briscoe on a pit road, Patrick climbed out of her car and seemed to be on her way to a confrontation with Briscoe's pit crew.

Her gloves had literally come off by the time track security managed to talk her out of it.

Scott Dixon went on to win, but Patrick's outburst instantly became the most memorable moment from Sunday's race.

It is the latest chapter in a cult of personality that is developing around the IndyCar series' hottest commodity.

Patrick was the story of the month at Indy after becoming the first woman to win an IndyCar race last month.

It earned her a wave of mainstream media exposure in the weeks leading up to the biggest race of the season.

To many, her win in Japan was proof that she was not a racing version of Anna Kournikova, the Russian tennis player known for having a pretty face and no singles game.

A win at Indy, however, might catapult Patrick into a marketing and media stratosphere currently enjoyed by the likes of Tiger Woods.

Alas, Patrick, her fans, and the corporate interests counting on her stardom will have to wait until next year.

Things were not going well for her on Sunday, even before the crash.

'I just didn't feel fast. I didn't have a lot of speed,' she said. 'We were making the best of it. I really, really had to be on my toes through the corners.'

She spent much of the afternoon giving her own crew members an earful, complaining about her car over the radio.

At one point, she protested loudly: 'I am slow! I am damn slow!'

Still, she was running in the top 10 when she came into the pits with 29 laps to go.

She was driving down the pit lane when Briscoe swerved out of his pit and touched wheels with Patrick, snapping her rear suspension and ending her race.

Now, it remains to be seen whether she and Briscoe will work out their differences heading into this Sunday's race in Milwaukee.

'If he doesn't come to me within a certain amount of time, rest assured I'll talk to him about it,' Patrick said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS