Danica Patrick just wanted to get through it.

She emphasized twice not to read a negative connotation into her words, but the popular driver knew her much-anticipated return to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a refresher test would be the start of a laborious process. It was, and then some.

Her first drive in an Indy car since 2011 was initially stalled by a water temperature issue in the No. 13 Go Daddy Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet on Tuesday. That took about one hour to resolve. Then the steering wheel felt too heavy and a new car with which she is unfamiliar had too much understeer.

Patrick eventually completed the two phases of her veteran refresher test, the bottom-line goal as she prepares for her final race, the 102nd Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil on May 27.

“I just kind of wanted to get today over with,” she said. “Not in a negative sense, but it’s been seven years since I drove an Indy car here, it’s been a long time. I just wanted to get through today, get more comfortable and be able to get on with the job.”

She’ll be back on track Wednesday in search of that comfort zone, then there’s a break. Practice for the Indy 500 doesn’t begin until May 15.

Patrick admitted there was a lot of anticipation for her for this day, especially after so many years in NASCAR when she was convinced an Indy 500 return would never happen again.

She got the idea for the “Danica Double” last fall – to retire this year after running the centerpiece events for both series, the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500, once more. Patrick, 36, had accomplished so much in racing as the first woman to win an Indy car race (Twin Ring Motegi Japan, 2008) as well as the highest female finisher in the Indy 500 (third, 2009) and the first woman to lead at Indy (19 laps, 2005), among other accolades.

Since she announced her plans in November, Patrick has been left to wonder what it would feel like stepping back into the cockpit of an Indy car. She had her first chance on Tuesday.

“It’s been since fall of last year thinking about what the hell is it going to feel like?” she said. “So now I know.”

After some continual adjustments to the front wing, she thought she could feel the grip limit of the car.

“Tomorrow, I’ll feel even more comfortable,” she said. “But I’ve been waiting to get this over with for a long time.”

Patrick then reiterated, “I say that with love. I hope there’s some understanding for the words that I’m using. I want to get through that (refresher test) so I can get to the fun part, which is really running, making changes, making it faster and feeling really comfortable. It was just a day of anticipation and a level of not knowing.”

Her every move on pit road was captured by camera lenses, a media frenzy that reminded her somewhat of 2005, when she burst onto the national scene with a fourth-place finish in her Indy 500 debut. She didn’t win the race, but took the lead late and caused enough of a sensation to land on the cover of the next week’s Sports Illustrated.

“I can’t think of a better place to end than here, where it all began,” she said.

Patrick praised ECR and team owner Carpenter for helping her in this re-acclimation process. She said she wanted a “fun” May, with a team that would be easy to work with. So far, it’s been “really cool.”

She said her 2005 IMS rookie orientation program was a lot easier than Tuesday’s refresher test because she’s already raced that car four times. It’s all still a bit overwhelming, but Patrick has always been confident and assured she would figure it out.

“Baby steps, right?” she said. “What’s very important here at Indy is to not drive beyond what you feel is possible for the car because it will bite you. And your gut is usually right. Your feet and your butt are right.

“The other thing is just the level of respect for the facility itself. I kind of feel like it’s got its own heartbeat.”

A level-headed Patrick offered another bottom-line perspective before finally calling it a day.

“For me, I forget that it’s not really Indy yet,” she said. “It’s a test, which was supposed to happen a month ago, but, of course, there was still snow on the ground in some places (and the test was postponed to this week).

“This is just a test. So we’ll be back again in two weeks and that’s when it really starts.”

Patrick is among 12 drivers expected to participate in Wednesday’s manufacturer test day for Chevrolet and Honda. Practice for the Indianapolis 500 begins May 15, with qualifying to set the 33-car field on May 19-20. The 102nd running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” airs at 11 a.m. ET on ABC and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network.