Danica Patrick
Danica Patrick
Danica Sue Patrickis an American professional stock car racing driver, model, and advertising spokeswoman. She is the most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel racing—her win in the 2008 Indy Japan 300 is the only women's victory in an IndyCar Series race and her third place in the 2009 Indianapolis 500 the highest finish there ever by a woman. She competed in the series from 2005 to 2011. In 2012, she competed in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and occasionally...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionRace Car Driver
Date of Birth25 March 1982
CityBeloit, WI
CountryUnited States of America
I've never asked for special treatment along the way. And I'm never going to hide the fact that I'm a girl, ever. That's obvious, isn't it?
I've never seen myself as a 'girl driver.' I'm just a driver.
When you are not missing something, longing for something, you don't really think about it that much. It's like that girlfriend you don't want to have anymore. You don't think about her anymore. Or ex-husband. You just don't.
I'm a good blend of both my mom and dad.
We ran well there in the November 2012, my first race with (Tony) Gibson (as crew chief). Unfortunately, we haven't left there without a torn up race car. We got caught up in accidents in November of 2012 and then again in November 2013. We cut a tire and crashed last spring, so it'd be nice to have a good clean run with the GoDaddy car. I like Phoenix and Gibson has won there a few times. Hopefully our luck will turn around and we can have a good smooth run and get back on track.
In this society these days, women are widely accepted in all kinds of cross-gender areas. So yeah, it's time!
I know that England changed me. I became a little bit colder, a little different.
You know, it's always good to have seen a track before, just to kind of know where the little bumps are here and there, and just the general feel for the size.
I take none of that to heart. I don't feel like there's anything that I need to do for anybody else. I want to win bad enough for myself anyway, that nothing anybody can say can make me want to win any more.
Being a girl, my parents could have discouraged me from racing ... but my family has such a passion and so much confidence in me, and that goes a long way.
Since I started in Nascar, popularity has definitely gone up. I've become more attractive and helpful to companies that are looking for spokespersons. So from that perspective, things are going really well.
I think you can be happy and still be competitive. A good lesson for everybody is to think a bit before you speak and represent who you really are instead of the brash emotional you.
The commitments, schedule and sponsor appearances don't change. It gets more busy, because you get more popular, and the more popular you are, it actually gets more busy. They're like, 'Yeah, let's use her, she's hot right now. Let's do a shoot!'
The last time I was pulled over was in 2005. I was going 55 in a 35 mile per hour zone - which I don't understand because you can barely even idle at 35 miles per hour. Anyway, I was ordered to go to traffic school. It was an 8-hour class and really painful.