DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. Josh Scobee Jacksonville Jaguars . -- Danica Patrick has a two-year-old photo of her in the car at Daytona, on the receiving end of two thumbs up from Richard Petty. "Its a back shot of his butt sticking out," Patrick said, smiling. It had been the extent of the interaction between the pair -- just a playful sign of encouragement from the Hall of Famer to one of NASCARs most popular drivers after she won the pole at the 2012 Nationwide Series race at Daytona. On Thursday, Patrick spent most of her appearance at the Daytona 500 media day brushing off criticism from The King that the only way she could win a Sprint Cup race was "if everybody else stayed home." She refused to fire back at Petty, a seven-time champion, politely stating that he was entitled to his opinion. Patrick handled the comments much in the same way she dismissed Kyle Pettys remarks last year that "shes not a race car driver." "It has nothing to do with where it comes from," she said. "The people that matter the most to me are my team, my sponsors and those little 3-year-old kids that run up to you and want a great big hug and say they want to grow up to be like you. Thats the stuff I really focus on." Patrick talked at length about almost every topic but racing for the second straight year to kick off Daytona. She spent her 20-minute session last year answering questions about her new relationship with fellow driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. This year, Stenhouse again was a hot topic, with people wanting to know: What are their Valentines Day plans? "I did say to him yesterday, Hey babe, I feel like I shouldnt be thinking about this because it should be your job, but would you like me to ask someone to make reservations at a restaurant?" she said. Odds are, the famous pair wont be asking the Pettys to join them for a bite to eat. Petty gave NASCAR plenty to chew on last week when he said Patrick only gets attention because shes a woman, but added that publicity is good for NASCAR. "If shed have been a male, nobody would ever know if shed showed up at a racetrack," Petty said. "This is a female deal thats driving her. Theres nothing wrong with that, because thats good PR for me. More fans come out, people are more interested in it. She has helped to draw attention to the sport, which helps everybody in the sport." Stenhouse said he was proud of the way Patrick handled the media glare. "I would not be happy if it was about me like that," he said. "But I think shes proved she can drive these race cars. Shes got a lot to learn. Heck, Ive got a lot to learn." Maybe theyll figure out why the Pettys have been so petty toward Patrick. "I dont know what their problem is," Stenhouse said. "But, hey, they have opinions and they like to talk." Dale Earnhardt Jr., long NASCARs most popular driver, said Petty was a "little rough" on Patrick. "Danica deals with more criticism than anybody else has ever faced in the sport," Earnhardt said. "She goes by a different set of rules because of her gender, and thats unfortunate. It seems like shes always having to answer to something like that, and thats a pain in her butt. "And frankly its just got to get old." Patrick drew national headlines to NASCAR in her Daytona Cup debut last season when she became the first woman to win the pole and raced up front for much of "The Great American Race." She led five laps and finished eighth. She never came close to duplicating that Daytona success the rest of the season for Stewart-Haas Racing. Daytona marked Patricks best finish during a rough rookie year in which she averaged a 26th-place finish. Patrick was 27th in the final Sprint Cup standings. Her learning curve figures to be steep one. Six-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson said Patrick would need at least five years to really get a feel for handling a stock car. Even Patrick, who had one win in her IndyCar career, knows she has plenty to learn. Shes winless with one top-10 in 46 career Cup starts and had only one top-five in 60 career Nationwide starts. Shell run the Nationwide race at Daytona the night before the 500. "Stock cars are not my background," she said. "Ive done two full years. One in Nationwide. One in Cup. I still feel like Im figuring stock cars out, and will for a long time." Brad Keselowski, the 2012 Cup champion, said he respected Pettys stance on Patrick and added his comments to the mix. "But I think its a long ways to go out there and say someone will never win a race," he said. "I wouldnt want my name behind that comment. So I think I would probably give a little more time and see how that one plays out because there are races where I think she can win." Like Daytona. Or Talladega. Restrictor plate races where just about anything can happen and often lead to unlikely winners. But at any other track? "I havent seen any indications that would make me think anything different than that," Keselowski said. Enough about The King, lets get back to the boyfriend. "Thats so much more fun," Patrick said. "I havent really done anything on the race track. What would you ask me if there was no fun things like there are today?" Authentic Alan Ball Jersey . The Arena das Dunas in the northeastern city of Natal sustained minor damage during the protests, but demonstrators stayed away on Sunday and officials said the stadium passed its first test, with only minor adjustments needed going forward. Blake Bortles Jacksonville Jaguars . Mata had already been dropped from Spains squad once this season and with the country blessed with so many playmakers, he was in real danger of being overlooked for the trip to Brazil to defend their title.SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Former Germany great Franz Beckenbauer was banned from football for 90 days by FIFA on Friday for not co-operating with an investigation into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids. FIFA said the suspension was requested by ethics prosecutor Michael Garcia, making Beckenbauer the first person to be punished as a result of the case. Beckenbauer refused "repeated requests for his assistance, including requests that he provide information during an in-person interview or in response to written questions provided in both English and German," FIFA said in a statement. It was unclear whether the FIFA suspension would prevent Beckenbauer -- who won the World Cup as both a player and coach -- from attending the tournament in Brazil. FIFA suspensions relating to "any football-related activity, at any level" typically include attending matches and meeting other football officials. Beckenbauer was a voting member of FIFAs executive committee in December 2010 when it chose Qatar, and Russia as 2018 World Cup host. He said last week that he rejected two attempts by Garcia to speak with him, claiming he was no longer active in football. Beckenbauer still holds top-level positions in world football, after serving on FIFAs board from 2007-11. He joined after leading Germanys organization of the 2006 World Cup. He is an adviser to FIFAs football committee and a global ambassador for German champion Bayern Munich. Garcia, a former U.S. Attorney haas said that next month he will deliver a dossier on the World Cup case, which FIFA critics hope will order a redo of the votes. Authentic Josh Evans Jersey. Beckenbauer was named in reports this past weekend by The Sunday Times, which has alleged widespread corruption linked to Qatari official Mohamed bin Hammam and the 2022 bidding campaign. The newspaper said Beckenbauer took paid consultancies in 2011 with German firms seeking contracts for World Cup related projects in the gas-rich emirate. Like most FIFA board members, Beckenbauer has not publicly revealed who he voted for. Qatar defeated the United States 14-8 in the fourth round of voting, FIFA President Sepp Blatter has previously said German and French business and political interests influenced the FIFA vote. FIFA said its independent ethics judge, Munich-based Joachim Eckert, was not involved in the decision to suspend Beckenbauer, who faces further sanctions. "The case is now the subject of formal investigation proceedings being conducted by investigatory chamber member Vanessa Allard as chief of the investigation," FIFA said. Garcia could still seek to interview Beckenbauer, though he closed the investigation phase of his probe on Monday. On Wednesday, Garcia addressed FIFAs 209 member countries in Sao Paulo and stressed that football officials are obligated to co-operate with his work. "And it makes real penalties available to all those who fail," the American lawyer said then. ' ' '
