Our favorite fast woman debates Barbies versus Hot Wheels, remembers the go-kart days and has a message for those other Indy drivers bringing up her rear

Q1 Playboy: When you were a little girl, which was your toy of choice, Barbie or Hot Wheels?

Danica Patrick: Well, it depends on what age we're talking about. I had a hundred Barbies, and I turned cardboard boxes on their sides and made them into Barbie houses. But I always liked Mr. T, too. That must have been the start of something masculine. And I did have the Barbie car.

Q2 Playboy: What were the first vehicles you raced?

Patrick: Little go-karts with small lawn-mower engines in them. They were five-horsepower engines that might have gone 40 or 45 miles an hour. I was 10 years old, and I caught on to it quickly. I almost won the championship the first year. I went back to Sugar River Raceway a few years ago and looked at all the files from the first year I drove. I could see the lap times, the qualifying positions and the results. You could see that midseason it clicked, and all of a sudden I was two seconds quicker than anybody else. I started winning all the time.

Q3 Playboy: Do you look back and realize how seriously you took racing?

Patrick: Yeah, that's exactly right. When I was in high school, people would say to me, "Gosh, you're so dedicated." If I had a race the next weekend, I would go out with my friends and drive them around, and I wouldn't drink. I always lived for racing, and I sacrificed everything else. That's why when people ask, "How do I become a race-car driver? Tell us what it takes," I always say I don't think I can tell someone how to do it--either you have it in you or you don't. If you're asking the question, I would look at it twice, because you should be on the path already.

Q4 Playboy: When you were 12 years old you crashed into Sam Hornish Jr. during a go-kart race. Now you both race Indy cars. Have you two ever talked about it?

Patrick: As funny as it would be, we haven't. I see him all the time. He's cool. He's a friend. We hang out since we race with each other now. It's funny how that came full circle. I remember he bumped my go-kart into the first turn with a lap or two to go. When we came to the last corner, I decided I wasn't going to let him get away with it and I drove over him. Come to think of it, he may have tried to brake-check me. I should ask him because I didn't make mistakes like that. I'll bet he brake-checked me.