Danica Sue Patrick (born March 25, 1982 in
Beloit, Wisconsin) is an American auto racing driver competing in the IndyCar Series. She is from an Irish-American family and was
raised in Roscoe, Illinois. Danica Patrick was named
the Rookie of the Year for both the 2005 Indianapolis 500 and the 2005 IndyCar
Series season. In May 2006, she published her autobiography, Danica: Crossing the Line.
Early Racing Career
Danica Patrick began go-karting in 1992 at Sugar River Raceway outside of
Brodhead, Wisconsin and went on to win several
national championships. She moved to England at the age of 16 in order to advance her racing
career. She has also earned a GED. Focusing primarily on road racing,
Patrick raced in several developmental open-wheel series while in Europe, including Formula
Ford and Formula Vauxhall. Patrick earned a second-place finish in England's extremely
competitive Formula Ford Festival, the highest-ever finish by either a woman or an American in
the event.
In 2002, Patrick signed a multi-year deal to race for the team of Bobby Rahal. After making several starts in the Barber Dodge Pro
Series, she moved to the Toyota Atlantic Championship for 2003.
Driving for Rahal Letterman Racing with sponsorship from Argent, Patrick achieved moderate success in the Toyota Atlantic series. During her time in Atlantics, she won
one pole and was a consistent podium finisher (top three); however, she never won a race. In 2004, Patrick finished third in the
Championship.
As well as participating in Atlantics, Patrick also made an appearance in the American Le Mans Series, driving for the Prodrive
Ferrari team to tenth place at the 2003 Grand Prix
of Atlanta. She would attempt sports cars later in her career with a run at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2006.
IRL IndyCar Series
2005
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 only the fourth woman to qualify
for 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 instead went to Tony Kanaan. Patrick's
fourth starting position, however, was still 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 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 in the race, the same position in which she started: Patrick's car stalled in the pits about halfway
through the 500-mile 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 having lost 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. The 24 hour event was
her longest race to date.
2006
Patrick competed in the 2006 IRL IndyCar Series 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 Miami
Speedway, Patrick qualified in third behind the Penske Racing teammates of Helio
Castroneves and Sam Hornish, Jr. However, tragedy struck in the final practice
sessions for the race as Rahal Letterman Racing teammate Paul Dana was killed in a crash the
morning of the race. Patrick and fellow Rahal Letterman driver Buddy Rice withdrew from the
race immediately. The two resumed their 2006 IRL campaign with the second race of the year in St. Petersburg, Florida.
At the Indianapolis 500, Patrick took eighth place after starting tenth. Shortly after Watkins Glen, Rahal Letterman racing
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 IRL finishes. The following week at Michigan, though, Patrick's car died
with three laps to go and she finished 17th. She rebounded at Kentucky and Infineon to finish 8th in both races.
In her final race with Rahal Letterman Racing 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.
2007
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.[1] Patrick's car is sponsored by Motorola, XM radio and Go Daddy.[2]
In Patrick's first race with Andretti Green Racing at Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 24th she finished 14th
after crashing into the pit wall on lap 154 and being knocked out of the race. Following Homestead, she finished 8th at St.
Petersburg 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. Benefits include a "Pit Kit,"
contests and giveaways, sponsor discounts and promotions, and a members-only web site loaded with features.
Patrick ended up starting and finishing eighth in the 91st running of the 2007 Indianapolis
500. She ran as high as 2nd to Tony Kanaan after the rain delay. She had to pit after the rain delay, which dropped her
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 the Milwaukee Mile, Patrick started second to last but moved up quickly to 5th before contact with Dan Wheldon. Patrick
managed to save the car from hitting anything but the wreck caused aerodynamic damage but she used a timely caution to get back
on the lead lap and finish 8th. After the race she and Wheldon had a heated exchange after she tried to confront him about the
wreck.
Following the incident at Milwaukee, Patrick rebounded with a career night at Texas in the Bombardier Learjet 550. She ran with the lead pack throughout the entire race and led her first
two laps since her rookie season before finishing third, her first top-three finish at the time and less than a second behind
eventual winner Sam Hornish, Jr.
Her good fortune would only be temporary as she was involved in one of the several crashes at Iowa to finish 13th. She would
however rebound at Richmond to run in the top 10 all night before finishing 6th.
She followed that up with 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 career road course finish) despite being involved in a lap 1 accident that sent
her into the grass briefly.
Patrick continued to have bad luck at Michigan International Speedway as previous years have seen Patrick retire from the race
early due to fuel and other troubles. At the 2007 running, a flat tire in the late portion of the race forced Patrick to pit and
dropped her to a 7th place finish.
Her terrible luck would continue at Kentucky as 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 Indy Style racing by a female.
At the season finale in Chicagoland Speedway, Patrick ran most of the race in 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 finshes 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.
Controversy
Some racing fans have claimed Patrick, as a rare female driver, has benefited from her minority status. They claim that most
male drivers would have had more difficulty in finding a ride with a top racing team than Patrick did and would have been dropped
sooner than Patrick was after failing to achieve any wins during her entire IRL career.
Some racing journalists, IndyCar fans, and other drivers (such as Robby Gordon) have
claimed that Patrick's relatively low body weight gives her an advantage in a competition where engine size and car weight are
strictly regulated.[3] (Patrick's
height is 5'2, and weight is 100 pounds.) The IRL president, Brian Barnhart, disagrees, telling Dave Caldwell for
The New York Times that Patrick's weight "had a [...] minimal effect on the
competition."
Patrick has also had to deal with sexist remarks from fellow racers, who feel that auto racing is a man's sport. In May 2006,
after an appearance on ESPN SportsCenter's Budweiser Hot
Seat, Patrick made comments that ruffled the feathers of former NASCAR drivers. When asked if she would ever make the jump over
to the NASCAR circuit, Patrick commented that, while she wouldn't make the jump, she hadn't even "gotten a phone call (from
NASCAR representatives)."[citation needed] Former driver Richard Petty
responded, in a separate interview, by stating, "I just don't think it's a sport for women, and so far, it's proved out. It's
really not. It's good for them to come in. It gives us a lot of publicity, it gives them publicity. But as far as being a real
true racer, making a living out of it, it's kind of tough."[4]
When talk heated up of a possible future Patrick move to NASCAR in July 2006, fellow IRL
driver Ed Carpenter said, "I think Danica's pretty aggressive in our cars. I mean, you know
especially if you catch her at the right time of the month, she might be trading plenty of paint out there." He later said that
he meant no disrespect, and that he felt she could hold her own on whatever circuit she was in. He also said it was unlikely she
would jump to NASCAR.[5]
In October 2005, Patrick was mentioned in the men's magazine FHM by Formula One driver Jenson Button, who, while dismissing her prospects
in Formula One racing, then added some colorful remarks of his own, notably the infamous line "A girl with big boobs would never
be comfortable in the car. And the mechanics wouldn't concentrate. Can you imagine strapping her in?"[6]
Career Results
IndyCar
(Races in Bold indicate pole position)
| Year |
Team |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
Rank |
Points |
| 2005 |
Rahal Letterman |
HMS
Ret |
PHX
15 |
STP
12 |
JPN
4 |
IND
4 |
TXS
13 |
RIR
10 |
KAN
9 |
NSH
7 |
MIL
Ret |
MIS
Ret |
KTY
16 |
PPIR
8 |
SNM
Ret |
CHI
6 |
WGL
16 |
CAL
Ret |
12th |
325 |
| 2006 |
Rahal Letterman |
HMS
Wth |
STP
6 |
JPN
8 |
IND
8 |
WGL
8 |
TXS
12 |
RIR
15 |
KAN
11 |
NSH
4 |
MIL
4 |
MIS
Ret |
KTY
8 |
SNM
8 |
CHI
12 |
|
|
|
9th |
302 |
| 2007 |
Andretti Green |
HMS
Ret |
STP
8 |
JPN
11 |
KAN
7 |
IND
8 |
MIL
8 |
TXS
3 |
IOW
Ret |
RIR
6 |
WGL
11 |
NSH
3 |
MDO
5 |
MIS
7 |
KTY
Ret |
SNM
6 |
DET
2 |
CHI
11 |
7th |
424 |
| Years |
Teams |
Races |
Poles |
Wins |
Podiums
(Non-win)** |
Top 10s
(Non-podium)*** |
Indianapolis 500
Wins |
Championships |
| 3 |
2 |
47 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
23 |
0 |
0 |
- ** Podium (Non-win) indicates 2nd or 3rd place finishes.
- *** Top 10s (Non-podium) indicates 4th through 10th place finishes.
Media work
Patrick has hosted several TV shows on Spike TV, including the "Powerblock", and
she was featured in the 2005 documentary Girl Racers.
Patrick was featured on the cover of the June 6, 2005 issue of
Sports Illustrated, making her the first Indianapolis 500 driver on the cover
(and the cover, the first for the Indianapolis 500 itself) since Al Unser, in victory lane,
following his upset fourth victory in 1987.
After her participation in the 2005 Indianapolis 500, she was asked by Playboy to have
her pictures taken to be published in a future edition of its magazine. She declined the offer, though she will give Jason Buhrmester an interview to be published in the summer of 2007.[1] She had also previously posed for FHM, appearing in the April 2003 issue.
Recently she was on the cover of the September/October 2006 issue of travelgirl
magazine and the October 2006 issue of American Libraries.
She appeared in Secret deodorant commercials in 2005 and
2006 until she was dropped and replaced by Rihanna in
2007. She also appeared in Jay-Z's music video "Show Me What You Got," where she drives a Pagani Zonda
Roadster. A spot for the Honda Civic Coupe features Patrick trying to avoid a
speeding ticket.
Danica was featured in an ESPN "This Is SportsCenter" commercial, which showed then-anchor Dan
Patrick towing her IndyCar due to a reserved space misunderstanding (the space in question being reserved for "D.
Patrick").
She can also be seen in award winning corporate training videos Four Weeks In May and T.E.A.M.W.O.R.K.
On February 4, 2007, Patrick appeared in the
Super Bowl commercial for Go Daddy Inc.
During testing at Phoenix International Raceway, Go Daddy filmed a
second commercial with Patrick that has also aired nationally. During the same test, at the invitation of Go Daddy, Patrick met
with Paul Sr. and Mikey Teutul, and
subsequently appeared on an episode of American Chopper.
Recently she was voted sexiest athlete in Victoria's Secret "What is Sexy" list.
Patrick also was voted #42 in 2006 and #85 in 2007 in FHM's 100 sexiest women in the world.
Personal
Patricks's parents, T.J. and Bev Patrick, met on a blind date at a snowmobile event in the 1970s when Bev was a mechanic for a
friend's snowmobile.[7][8] T.J. raced snowmobiles, motocross, and midget cars. They have owned a Java Hut
and a plate glass company.
Currently, T.J. helps his daughter by driving her motor coach, and managing her Web site and merchandise trailer. Bev handles
the ins and outs of her business needs.
Patrick is married to Paul Edward Hospenthal, who had previously been her physical therapist. She was raised in a
non-religious home but converted to Roman Catholicism - already Hospenthal's faith
- shortly after seeing the movie The Passion of the Christ.[citation needed]
References
- Staff. “Danica Patrick 1982—” Biography Today 15(2): pp. 102–113 (April 2006)
- ^ "Danica to stay in IRL,
but switch to Andretti Green", Associated Press, July 26, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-03-10.
- ^ "XM Satellite Radio Sponsoring Danica Patrick", OrbitCast.com, September 12, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-03-10.
- ^ "Robby Gordon raining on
Danica's parade", Associated Press, May 28, 2005. Retrieved on
2007-03-10.
- ^ "Petty hasn't changed views on women racers", Associated Press, June 1, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-03-10.
- ^ "Driver: 'Time of month'
could help Danica in NASCAR", Associated Press, July 13, 2006.
Retrieved on 2007-03-10.
- ^ "F1 driver told to Button lip after sexist tirade", The Scotsman, October 27, 2005. Retrieved on 2007-05-25.
- ^ H.W Wilson. Cover Biography for
October 2005. Retrieved on April 10, 2007.
- ^ About.com. Danica Patrick and Paul Hospenthal
Profile. Retrieved on April 10, 2007.
News links
External links
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