Danica Patrick defends controversial GoDaddy Super Bowl ad

Danica Patrick said Thursday that she was not happy to miss out on another Super Bowl commercial appearance because sponsor GoDaddy.com pulled its controversial puppy ad.

The ad, entitled "Journey Home," featured a lost golden retriever puppy named Buddy that eventually finds its way home, where its owner is greatly relieved, because she had already sold the dog on a website she had created through GoDaddy.com.

The ad drew outrage from animal rights activists and the commercial was pulled.

"Thank you @animalrescuers for the candid feedback," tweeted GoDaddy CEO Blake Irving. "What should have been a fun and funny ad clearly missed the mark and we will not air it."

Thursday morning at the annual NASCAR Media Day at Daytona International Speedway, Patrick addressed the issue.

"I was definitely disappointed I wasn't in the Super Bowl for a commercial," she said. "But I was in a Super Bowl commercial. It just didn't run."

Patrick said some people believed the act of withdrawing the commercial was a publicity stunt.

"GoDaddy had every intention to run that commercial and I feel like I heard from a lot of people that it was like choreographed and it was planned and stuff," said Patrick. "I think that's so funny."

She also defended the spot.

"We thought it was a really funny, slightly left-side joke, but it really was not intentional," to offend people, said Patrick.

"Was I surprised? I don't think anything in this culture surprises me anymore," Patrick said. "I think people have opinions about everything, especially when you get into that world of animal rights or tree rights or whatever rights. They all have an opinion."

Patrick bought her dog, Dallas, online and said the Internet is an excellent resource for animal lovers.

"I love my dog and I take great care of her," Patrick said. "I was up at 1:45 in the morning taking her for a walk in the dark last night because she had to go out. She found a good home, so how bad can it really be? The Internet is a source for information. It was really hard to find a miniature Siberian Husky, but we found one."