PracticeMode

LEXINGTON, Ohio — That win earlier this year in Japan must seem like a long time ago to Danica Patrick.

Since her first IndyCar Series victory on April 20, Patrick has mostly struggled to be competitive. Her fifth-place finish last Saturday night at Nashville was her first top-five since Motegi. And Patrick was hoping it would be the catalyst for a big finish to the 2008 season.

"That is the kind of stuff that I would, should, could be doing every weekend," she said Friday before the first practice. "It has been a tough year for me, really. We just haven't really settled on good race cars and we have missed it in the races. We were a lot closer to it at the race at Nashville."

But, if Saturday is any indication, the Honda Indy 200 may be just more of the same struggles that she has faced so many times in the past three months.

Patrick's struggles continue with poor qualifying performance at Mid-Ohio....