DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- 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?" Air Jordan 1 Retro Australia .J. Ward appeared in court Friday on misdemeanour charges that he threw a glass mug at a bartender at a Denver strip club. Wholesale Air Jordan 1 Australia . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell. http://www.wholesaleairjordan1australia.com/. The photograph shows Parker and a French comedian making a gesture known in France as a "quenelle," which critics describe as inverted Nazi salute. Parker said in a statement released through the Spurs that the photograph was taken three years ago. Parker, who was born in Belgium but raised in France, said he didnt know at the time that "it could be in any way offensive or harmful. Cheap Air Jordan 1 Retro Australia . Cavaliers shooting guard Craig Ehlo makes a solid play on the ball, but still Jordan hits the amazing shot. Air Jordan 1 Australia . In the calls, Hernandez discussed the murder of Odin Lloyd, including his "belief about his criminal liability" and the "extent of his control over persons charged as accessories," according to the request filed Thursday in Fall River Superior Court.ROME -- Roma beat Napoli 3-2 in the first leg of their Italian Cup semifinal on Wednesday thanks to a double from Ivory Coast forward Gervinho. The return match will take place next Wednesday. Udinese leads Fiorentina 2-1 in the other semifinal. Napoli staged a second-half comeback from two goals down after Gervinhos opener and a stunning strike from Kevin Strootman. But Gervinho scored the winner two minutes from time. "In our league, ninety per cent of the matches are played defensively but its good to play like this against strong players," Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi said. "Its good to see games like this, theyre an advert for football. "It wasnt good for us mentally to concede a minute after the restart. But after they made it 2-2, we responded brilliantly. Another good game like tonights awaits us in Naples." Napoli started the brighter but it was Roma which broke the deadlock in the 13th minute when Gervinho ran onto a delightful through-ball from Francesco Totti and rounded goalkeeper Pepe Reina before firing home from three meters. Strootman doubled Romas lead in the 32nd with a stunning rocket into the top right corner from more than 30 metres. Gonzalo HHiguain pulled one back for Napoli a minute into the second half as the ball deflected off Mehdi Benatia and goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis got his hands to it but could not prevent it from going in.dddddddddddd It was the former Real Madrid strikers 16th of the season. Substitute Dries Mertens levelled in the 70th, four minutes after coming off the bench, when he burst between two defenders and blasted an effort past De Sanctis. Gervinho secured the match for Roma when he collected Alessandro Florenzis pass and coolly slotted into the near side of goal. Udinese, which has eliminated both Milan teams, beat Fiorentina on Tuesday in a match which saw three wonderful goals. Antonio Di Natale broke the deadlock in the 36th minute with his first goal from open play since September but Juan Manuel Vargas smashed an effort in off the underside of the crossbar a minute from halftime. Substitute Luis Muriel scored a long-range winner for Udinese, which is hoping to reach the final for the first time since 1922. Both sides eliminated illustrious teams in the previous round. Napoli knocked out holder Lazio, while Roma defeated Juventus, which is on course for a third successive league title. ' ' '