Danica Sue Patrick (born March 25, 1982) is an
American auto racing driver,
model and advertising spokeswoman. As of 2011, she competes in the
IndyCar Series and the
NASCAR Nationwide Series.
Starting in
kart racing, she later raced
Formula Ford in
England before moving back to the US and moving up to
IndyCars. Patrick was named the
Rookie of the Year for both the
2005 Indianapolis 500 and the
2005 IndyCar Series season. With her win in the 2008
Indy Japan 300, Patrick became the first woman to win an
Indy car race. She placed 3rd in the
2009 Indianapolis 500, which was both a personal best for her at the track, and the highest finish by a woman in the event's history. Ms. Patrick holds the IRL record for most consecutive races running at the finish. As of October 2, 2011, she has completed 50 consecutive races in the running (the next highest total in the record book is 32).
[1] In the IRL, Patrick currently drives the #7 GoDaddy.com
Honda/
Dallara for
Andretti Autosport.
In 2010, Patrick began racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, driving the #7
GoDaddy.com Chevrolet Impala for
JR Motorsports part-time. She also has an
equity stake in her #7 team.
[2] She had her best career finish of 4th in series on March 5, 2011 at
Las Vegas Motor Speedway—the best finish by a woman in a NASCAR top-circuit.
Early life
Patrick was born in
Beloit, Wisconsin to parents T.J. and Bev Patrick. She grew up in nearby
Roscoe,
Illinois. Her parents met on a
blind date at a snowmobile event in the 1970s when Bev was a mechanic for a friend's snowmobile.
[3][4] T.J. raced snowmobiles, motocross, and midget cars. They have owned a
Java Hut and a plate glass company.
Patrick was a
cheerleader at
Hononegah Community High School in Rockton, IL in 1996 and spent her off time babysitting for a family down the road when she wasn't racing.
[5] She dropped out of high school and attained a
GED.
[6]
Her father, T.J., helps his daughter by driving her motor coach and managing her website and merchandise trailer, while her mother, Bev, handles Patrick's business affairs.
[citation needed]
[edit] Early racing career
Patrick began
go-karting in 1992 at the age of 10
[7] at the Sugar River Raceway in
Brodhead, Wisconsin, and eventually won several
World Karting Association track championships.
At age 16 she moved to
Milton Keynes,
England in order to advance her racing career,
[8] racing in British national series events against drivers including future
Formula 1 world champion
Jenson Button. During a three year period she raced in
Formula Ford,
Formula Vauxhall and earned a second-place in Britain's Formula Ford Festival, the highest finish by a woman in the event.
[9]
In 2002, Patrick started driving for
Rahal Letterman Racing in the United States. After making several starts in the
Barber Dodge Pro Series, she moved to the
Toyota Atlantic Championship for 2003. Patrick won one
pole position and was a consistent podium finisher (top three); however, she never won a race. In 2004, Patrick finished third in the Championship.
[10]
[edit] IRL IndyCar Series
After the 2004 racing season, Rahal Letterman Racing officially announced that Patrick would drive in the
IRL IndyCar Series for
2005.
On May 29, 2005, Patrick became the fourth woman to compete in the
Indianapolis 500, following
Janet Guthrie,
Lyn St. James and
Sarah Fisher. After posting the fastest practice speed of the month (229.880 mph/369.956 km/h) during the morning practice session on the first day of qualifications (May 15), she made an error in the first turn of her first qualifying lap, and failed to capture the pole position, which went to
Tony Kanaan. Patrick's fourth starting position was the highest ever attained for the race by a female driver.
Patrick became the first female driver to lead the race at
Indianapolis, first when acquiring it for a lap near the 125-mile (201 km) mark while cycling through
pit stops, and late in the race when she stayed out one lap longer than her rivals during a set of
green-flag pit stops. Patrick overcame two crucial errors to finish fourth, the same position she started in. Patrick's car stalled in the pits about halfway through the 500-mile (800 km) race, dropping her to the middle of the field; and shortly after reclaiming a spot in the top 10, Patrick spun on a caution period just before an intended green flag leading to a four car accident. The accident caused damage to Patrick's car that was limited to the nose and front wing. Her pit crew promptly made repairs, and due to the subsequent yellow, Patrick was able to rejoin the field, losing only one position. When the leaders pitted for fuel on lap 172, Patrick stayed out to take the lead. On lap 194, eventual race winner and 2005 series champion
Dan Wheldon passed her as she was forced to slow in order to conserve fuel. Patrick was subsequently passed by both
Bryan Herta and her teammate
Vitor Meira. Patrick's fourth place was the highest ever finish for a female driver at the Indy 500, besting the previous record of ninth set by Janet Guthrie in 1978. Patrick led 19 laps overall.
On July 2, 2005, Patrick won her first pole position, leading a 1-2-3 sweep by Rahal Letterman Racing at
Kansas Speedway. She became the second woman to accomplish this feat in the IndyCar Series, the first being
Sarah Fisher in 2002 at
Kentucky Speedway. On August 13, 2005, she won her second pole at Kentucky Speedway, although this time, rain prematurely ended qualifying and position was determined by speeds achieved during practice. She took a third pole at
Chicagoland Speedway which tied her with
Tomas Scheckter's record for number of pole positions earned in a rookie season.
In 2005, Patrick finished 12th in the IndyCar Series championship, with 325 points. She was named
Rookie of the Year for both the
2005 Indianapolis 500 and the
2005 IndyCar Series season.
During the offseason following the 2005 racing year, Patrick competed in the
Rolex 24 at Daytona along with co-driver
Rusty Wallace in January 2006.
Patrick competed in the
2006 IndyCar Series season giving her another chance at qualifying and racing in the Indianapolis 500. In the first race of the season, the
Toyota Indy 300 at
Homestead, Patrick qualified third behind the
Penske Racing teammates of
Helio Castroneves and
Sam Hornish, Jr. However, tragedy struck as
RLR teammate
Paul Dana was killed in a crash during practice the morning of the race. Patrick and
Buddy Rice withdrew from the race immediately. The two resumed their 2006 IndyCar campaign with the second race of the year at
St. Petersburg
At the
Indy 500, Patrick started eighth and finished eighth. After
Watkins Glen,
RLR switched to the
Dallara chassis and the team struggled to adapt. Patrick struggled to remain competitive, but her fourth place finishes at
Nashville and
Milwaukee tied her career best IndyCar finishes. At
Michigan, Patrick's car ran out of fuel with three laps to go and she fell to 17th. She rebounded at
Kentucky and
Infineon to finish 8th in both races.
In her final race with
RLR at
Chicagoland, Patrick recorded a 12th place finish and a 9th place finish in the IndyCar Series Championship point standings, besting her 12th place points finish as a rookie.
In November, the
March of Dimes awarded her the title of Sportswoman of the Year in celebration of her dedication and success.
[11]
On July 25, 2006, Patrick announced she had signed a deal to drive for
Andretti Green Racing, replacing
Bryan Herta in the number 7 Dallara Honda car beginning in 2007.
[12] Patrick's car is sponsored by
Motorola,
XM radio and
Go Daddy.
[13][14]
In Patrick's first race with
Andretti Green Racing at
Homestead on March 24 she finished 14th after crashing into the pit wall on lap 154. She finished 8th at
St. Pete and 11th at
Japan. At
Kansas she had her best finish of the year at that point, finishing 7th.
In April 2007, Patrick launched her official fan club
The Danica Maniacs to help foster greater interaction between her and her fans.
Patrick ended up starting and finishing eighth in the 91st running of the
Indianapolis 500. She ran as high as 2nd to
Tony Kanaan after the mid-race rain delay. After a pit stop, she dropped back in the field. Patrick was working her way back to the front until the race was ended under the caution caused by
Marco Andretti's accident due to the subsequent rain on lap 166.
At
Milwaukee, Patrick started second to last but moved quickly to 5th before contact with Dan Wheldon. Patrick managed to keep the car from hitting anything, but the wreck caused aerodynamic damage. She used a caution to regain the lead lap and finish 8th. After the race, she and Wheldon had a heated exchange when she tried to confront him about the wreck.
Patrick rebounded at
Texas in the
Bombardier Learjet 550. She ran with the lead pack through the entire race and led a race for the first time since 2005. She finished less than a second behind the winner,
Sam Hornish, Jr., a then career-best third and her first "podium" finish.
She was involved in a crash at
Iowa and finished 13th. At Richmond she ran in the top 10 all night before finishing 6th.
She had an 11th place finish at Watkins Glen, before running in the top 5 all day and finishing 3rd at Nashville. At Mid-Ohio she finished 5th (her best road course finish) despite being involved in a lap 1 accident that sent her into the grass briefly.
Patrick had bad luck at
Michigan International Speedway, where previous years saw her retire early due to fuel and other problems. In 2007, a flat tire late in the race forced Patrick to pit and dropped her to finish 7th.
Her bad luck continued at Kentucky, and she ran in the lead group all night and appeared headed towards another podium finish when she spun out exiting pit road with less than 50 laps to go. After restarting from that spin, a rear tire on Patrick's car blew leading to a crash and forcing her to retire from the race.
Her luck would get a little better at Infineon as she ran in the top 10 and finished 6th. However a series of slow pit stops kept her from what could have been an even better finish.
At
Belle Isle, Patrick started 11th and was involved in two accidents from which she was able to restart without damage, eventually driving to the front and leading 9 laps of the race before falling back after having to pit. On the final lap, while Patrick was running in 5th,
Buddy Rice,
Scott Dixon and teammate
Dario Franchitti were involved in an accident immediately in front of her. Patrick was able to avoid the wreck and finish in second place, a career-high in the IndyCar Series and tying her with
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing driver
Sarah Fisher for best finish in IndyCar racing by a female.
At the season finale in
Chicagoland Speedway, Patrick ran most of the race in the top 6, but had to make a pit stop for fuel with 7 laps to go. When entering pit lane, Patrick spun-out but avoided damage to her car. With assistance from her pit crew, Patrick was able to refire the engine, make a complete pit stop and reenter the race, finishing 11th overall.
For the 2007 season as a whole, Patrick scored her first three career podium finishes to finish with 4 top 5's and 11 top 10's while leading 17 laps on the season. She also scored her career best championship points finish of 7th with 424 points.
Patrick won her first IRL race at the 2008 Indy Japan 300, and became first woman to win an IndyCar Series race.
To begin the 2008 season, her second with
Andretti Green Racing, Patrick scored her best career
Homestead finish of 6th. She followed that up with another top 10 by scoring a 10th place finish at
St. Petersburg.
Patrick won at
Twin Ring Motegi in the
Indy Japan 300 on April 20, 2008, becoming the first woman to win an IndyCar race,
[2] joining the ranks of drag racer
Shirley Muldowney, who won three
NHRA Top Fuel Championships,
[15] as a "first female" winner in the top tier of American motorsports. Patrick took the Indy Japan 300 after the race leaders were forced to pit for fuel in the final laps. She finished 5.8594 seconds ahead of the Brazilian pole-sitter
Helio Castroneves, who ran out of fuel in the final turns on the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) Twin Ring Motegi oval.
Her team owner,
Michael Andretti, commented, "I'm thrilled for her that the monkey is finally off of her back."
[16]
A mechanical problem late in the race RoadRunner Turbo 300 at Kansas Speedway forced Patrick to retire early from the race.
During practice for the 2008 Indianapolis 500, Patrick's car struck a member of
Dale Coyne Racing's pit crew when she came into the pits on May 9. During the Indianapolis 500 on May 25, 2008, she retired from the race early after a collision in the pitlane. As
Ryan Briscoe exited his pitbox the two cars collided, damaging Patrick's left rear suspension and eliminating both from the race. After being pushed back to her own pit, Patrick left her car and headed down pit road towards Briscoe's pit at which point
IMS security intervened, preventing an on-track confrontation.
[17]
Following Indy, Patrick finished 9th at Milwaukee and 10th at Texas, with both races ending under yellow flag conditions. At Iowa and Richmond she stayed out of the many crashes during these races and finished 6th in each event.
Overall, she finished the
2008 IndyCar Series season in sixth place - the highest championship finish among American drivers for the 2008 season.
During the offseason following the 2008 racing year, Patrick made her second appearance in the
Rolex 24 at Daytona in January 2009
[18]
Patrick's car at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2009.
On May 24, Patrick raced at the
Indianapolis 500. She finished third behind winner
Helio Castroneves and second-place
Dan Wheldon.
[19][20] It was her best finish in five attempts, one spot better than her 2005 finish, and a new record high finish for a female driver in the race. The following weekend in Milwaukee Patrick raced to 5th position at the flag. On June 6, she finished the Bombardier Learjet 550 in 6th place, dropping her to fifth place in the IndyCar Series point standings.
Patrick began the season with the
Motorola sponsorship from her previous two seasons with AGR; however, her car was rebranded for
Boost Mobile following the Kansas race. The changes were made public with a drive down the tarmac at the Indianapolis International Airport.
[21]
In what was a difficult
Honda Indy Toronto qualifying and practice for the entire Andretti Green team, Patrick started the race in the 18th position (her teammates also starting in the rear of the field in 17th, 20th, and 22nd). Patrick had the best finish of the Andretti Green team moving up 12 positions to finish 6th, putting her only three points behind Castroneves for the 4th position in the 2009 points championship.
Patrick finished the season 5th overall in the point standings, her highest finish to date. This 5th place finish was not only the highest of any of the Andretti Green Racing drivers, but of any non-Penske or Ganassi driver for the 2009 season.
[22] It was also the highest finish by an American driver in 2009.
The 2010 season saw Patrick returning to drive with the newly renamed
Andretti Autosport in the IZOD
Indycar Series, as well as a limited schedule with
JR Motorsports in the
Nascar Nationwide Series.
[23] She would be sponsored by
GoDaddy.com in both series.
[24]
The
2010 Indianapolis 500 got off to a rough start for Patrick when difficulties with the car setup led her to publicly removing blame from herself for poor qualifying results. Her comments that the car was "absolutely awful" and that "it's not my fault," led the crowd to boo Patrick loudly as they took it as her blaming her team and not taking any responsibility for a disappointing session.
[25] Patrick was also booed during driver intros.
[26] Despite starting in 23rd position, Patrick moved up 17 positions to finish in 6th.
Patrick's top finishes of the season came at Texas and Homestead-Miami. She finished in 2nd place in both races, making it the first season since 2007 in which she had placed on the podium in multiple races during a season. She finished 10th in the championship points for the season, moving just 6 points ahead of Justin Wilson during the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
During the 2010 season, Patrick set the Indycar Series record for consecutive races finished running, having finished every race of the 2010 season as well as all but the first race of the 2009 season, for a total of 33 races.
[27]
The 2010 season would also see Patrick participating in the Drive4COPD campaign along with Patty Loveless, Bruce Jenner, Michael Strahan, and Jim Belushi. The team is working as part of a multi-year initiative to bring awareness of the dangers of COPD (which includes Chronic Bronchitis and Emphysema), the 4th leading cause of death in the US today.
[28]
Patrick's car at Indianapolis in May 2010.
Patrick would return for the
2011 IndyCar Series season driving again for
Andretti Autosport, as well as competing part-time in the
NASCAR Nationwide Series driving for
JR Motorsports, sponsored by GoDaddy.com in both. In the season opener at the
Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Patrick started in 19th and finished 12th after sustaining front wing damage and having to pit for a replacement twice, first after being hit by Ana Beatriz, and later in a similar incident by Justin Wilson. She was also penalized for "avoidable contact" with
J.R. Hildebrand, putting her back by one position.
In the second race of the season that took place at
Barber Motorsports Park, Patrick would have a strong run starting from 22nd position, working her way up to 7th; however, unfortunate pit strategy involving her tires not being changed over would cause her to finish 17th instead. In her third race, the
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, Patrick started 20th and finished 7th, moving up 13 positions, more than anyone else in the race.
In her fourth race of the season, the
São Paulo Indy 300, Patrick would start in 17th position. Heavy rainfall would ensue early on in the race that would result in a collision in Turn 2 between her and former teammate
Tony Kanaan, along with
Helio Castroneves and
Simona de Silvestro, putting them all out of the race. After numerous other accidents caused by the weather and poor visibility, the race itself was postponed and scheduled to restart the next morning from Lap 14. Unfortunately, because Patrick's accident took place nine laps prior to the race being stopped, she, along with others involved were forced to restart nine laps down. She would finish the race in 23rd.
On May 21, due to unexplainable team-wide flaws with the cars, Patrick, along with the rest of her full-time teammates would fail to qualify for the
2011 Indianapolis 500, forcing them all to have to attempt to qualify on the following day for the last nine positions in the race. Despite being one of the fastest in the following morning's practice, when it came time for qualifying, her car failed tech, and she was thus placed in the back of the qualifying line. She would almost be denied an opportunity for a qualifying attempt because it started to rain. The rain stopped just in time for her to make a qualifying effort that put her safely in the race, qualifying 26th.
On the day of the race, May 29, she would start in 25th because of Ryan Hunter-Reay being reinstated into the race and starting in the back of the field. Despite strong showings in a car she was struggling with getting speed out of throughout the race and eventually taking the lead, she began to run out of fuel and this would cost her the win, causing her to finish 10th.
Ongoing handling issues with her racecar would follow Patrick to her next race at
Texas Motor Speedway for the FIrestone Twin 275's: a set of two individual races that took place the same night. She started 10th in the first race but finished 16th. The second race starting grid was determined by a drawing. The results of the drawing would have her start 20th, but she would overtake several cars early on in the race and would actually end up finishing 8th. Patrick tweeted, however, that she was still upset with both finishes. Like almost all the other drivers, she criticized the drawing to determine the starting positions for the 2nd race, stating that it would have been better that the field had been inverted instead like the original twin races.
Her next race at the
Milwaukee Mile saw her starting 15th and finishing 5th after climbing 10 positions, her first top 5 finish of the season. Her next race was the
Iowa Corn Indy 250 night race. Despite a successful qualifying run, starting 2nd, things took a severe turn for the worse when handling problems showed up at the final practice just prior to the race. As a result, Patrick lost positions very quickly in the opening laps and spent most of the time mid-pack, hardly passing anyone, however, was able to hold her position somewhat, and made a few passes late in the race, finishing 10th. At the Edmonton Indy she managed to finish 9th after starting 22nd, her best ever result on the City Centre Airport.
[edit] NASCAR/ARCA career
Patrick drove a part-time schedule in the
NASCAR Nationwide Series for
JR Motorsports and her sponsor
GoDaddy.com.
[29] Her first competitive stock car experience was driving the #7
Chevrolet in an
ARCA race on February 6, 2010 at
Daytona International Speedway, in which she finished in sixth place.
[30][31] She raced at Daytona on February 13, 2010, in the NASCAR
Nationwide Series for her first career start in the series, which ended when Patrick was caught up in a 12-car accident. She started 15th and finished 35th. Patrick started her second NASCAR Nationwide Series race February 20, 2010 in the
Stater Brothers 300 at the
Auto Club Speedway in
Fontana,
California from 36th place and finished in 31st place in the
JR Motorsports Chevrolet. She did not qualify for the race on speed but invoked a provisional to make the grid. In her third Nationwide race, Patrick finished 36th when she crashed into Michael McDowell, her 2nd DNF in 3 races. Her next Nationwide race in June resulted in a 30th place finish. At the Chicagoland race she finished 24th, two laps down.
[32] At final race on November 20, 2010, Patrick set her best 2010 Nationwide Series result, finishing 19th in the
Ford 300 Race at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. After making 13 Nationwide Series starts, Patrick finished the season 43rd overall in the point standings.
On March 5, 2011, Patrick set racing history again, finishing 4th in the Sam's Town 300 Nationwide Series Race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Patrick mentioned in the post-race interview that her goal was to get a top 10 finish.
[33] On July 7, 2011, Patrick finished 10th in the Subway Jalapeno 250 Nationwide series race at Daytona after leading a total of 13 laps during the race before being involved in an incident coming to the checkered flag on the last lap of the race.
[edit] K&N Pro Series East
In Patrick's first
NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race, she posted her first top 10 finish (6th) at Dover but the following day, during the Nationwide race, she hit the wall after experiencing a vibration and a cut tire off turn 4 finishing 35th, 94 laps down.
[34]
[edit] NASCAR Nationwide Series
Danica Patrick and her sponsor GoDaddy.com announced on August 25, 2011 that Patrick will be leaving the IndyCar series and drive NASCAR Nationwide full time for JR Motorsports in 2012.
[edit] Formula One speculations
Patrick was scheduled to test for
Formula One team
Honda in November 2008,
[35] but this was called off due to the Honda team pulling out of the sport.
[36] In late 2009, the stillborn American F1 team
US F1 allegedly considered testing Patrick for a potential drive in
2010.
[37] However, she stated that she wasn't contacted by anyone from the team, and that she had no plans to leave the IndyCar Series for Formula One at the time.
[38] After the announcement of the return of Formula One to the USA in 2012, Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone said that "to have someone like Danica Patrick in F1 would be a perfect advert."
[39]
