Danica Patrick

Danica Patrick on Pole Day prior to the 2007 Indianapolis 500

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. Patrick was named the Rookie of the Year for both the 2005 Indianapolis 500 and the 2005 IndyCar Series season. While, as of April 2007, she has won three pole positions, she has never won an automobile race. In May 2006, she published her autobiography, Danica: Crossing the Line.

Early Racing Career

Danica Patrick began gokarting 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. A big achievement was finishing second in England's super-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 the highly regarded Rahal Letterman team 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 finisher on the podium (top three); however, she never won a race. In 2004, Patrick finished third in the Championship.

2005 IndyCar Series

Patrick at the 2006 Indianapolis 500

After the 2004 racing season, following much speculation as to where Patrick would race in 2005, during the off 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 for 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 blunders to finish fourth in the race, the same position in which she started. Her car stalled in the pits about halfway through the 500-mile race, dropping her to the middle of the field. Shortly after reclaiming a spot in the top 10, Patrick spun on a caution period just before an intended green flag, causing a four car accident. The accident caused damage to the nose and front wing of her car. Her pit crew promptly made repairs, and due to the subsequent yellow, was able to rejoin having lost only one place. When the leaders pitted for fuel on lap 172, Patrick took the lead once more, lost it on lap 184, and then regained it on a restart with 11 laps to go. However, as she had not pitted for fuel, Patrick needed one more long yellow in order to reach the finish without having to refuel. 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, and she was quickly 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.

In 2005, she finished 12th in the IndyCar Series championship, with 325 points.

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.

In January 2006, Patrick competed in the Rolex 24 at Daytona along with co-driver Rusty Wallace. The 24 hour event was her longest race to date.

2006 IndyCar Series

She 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. Patrick finished 6th in St. Petersburg and 8th in Japan. At Indy she took eighth place after starting tenth. After Indy she finished 8th at Watkins Glen. However, the following week Rahal Letterman racing switched to the Dallara chassis and the team struggled to grasp a hold of them. Patrick had struggled to remain competitive, but her 4th place finishes at Nashville and Milwaukee tied her career best IRL finishes, and helped her move up to 9th in the season point standings. The following week at Michigan, though, her car died with three laps to go and she finished 17th. She rebounded at Kentucky and Infineon to finish 8th.

In her final race at Chicagoland with Rahal Letterman Racing, Patrick recorded a 12th place finish and a 9th place finish in the point standings besting her 12th place points finish as a rookie.

2007 IndyCar Series

Danica Patrick after qualifying for the 2007 Indianapolis 500

On July 25, 2006 Patrick announced she had signed a deal to drive for Andretti Green Racing, replacing Bryan Herta in the 7 Dallara beginning in 2007. She will be driving a car sponsored by telecommunications giant Motorola, as well XM radio and Go Daddy.

In Danica'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 finish 8th at St. Petersburg and 11th at Japan. At Kansas she had her best finish of the year to this point finishing 7th, benefiting from crashes and mechanical woe of other teams. Her result was overshadowed by a pit road mishap with teammate Tony Kanaan, when she ran into him while exiting her pit box.

She qualified 8th for her third Indy 500 and will be one of three women in the field joining Sarah Fisher and Milka Duno. This will mark the first 500 to have 3 women competing.

In April 2007 Danica 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, a members only web site loaded with features and more.

Controversy

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. 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."

Many race fans say that Patrick, as an attractive female, has benefited from her minority status. They claim that the typical, rookie driver would have had much more difficulty securing a ride, as well as sponsorship, with a top racing team than Patrick did, particularly having never won any automobile races in junior formula, e.g. Formula Atlantic or Formula Ford. They also say that any other rookie driver would have been dropped by top teams, unlike Patrick, after failing to achieve any race wins. Many people also criticize her for the lack of podium finishes she has had within the three years she has been in the Indycar Series, despite all of the media attention.

Patrick has also had to deal with sexist remarks from fellow racers, who feel that auto racing is a man's sport. In May of 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)." 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."

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.

In October of 2005, Patrick got 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?"

Complete IndyCar Series Results

(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	MIL	TXS	IOW	RIR	WGL	NSH	MDO	MIS	KTY	SNM	DET	CHI	8th*	85*

* 2007 season underway

Years	Races	Poles	Wins	Podiums (Non-win)	Top 10s (Non-podium)	Indianapolis 500 Wins	Championships	Teams	Total Points
3	34	3	0	0	17	0	0	2	712

Media work

Patrick has hosted several TV shows on Spike TV, including the "Powerblock", and she was featured in the 2005 documentary Girl Racers.

File:Sports Illustrated Cover Danica Patrick Indy 500.jpg

The first Indy 500 driver on a Sports Illustrated cover since 1981, and the first Indy 500-related cover since 1985.

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 had 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.

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 Danica was voted sexiest athlete in Victoria's Secret "What is Sexy" list.

Danica also was voted #42 in 2006 and #85 in 2007 in FHM's 100 sexiest women in the world.

Personal

Danica's parents are T.J. and Bev Patrick. T.J. and Bev met on a blind date at a snowmobile event in the 1970's when Bev was a mechanic for a friend's snowmobile. T.J. raced snowmobiles, motocross, and midget cars. They have owned a Java Hut and a plate glass company.

Currently, T.J. helps Danica by driving her motor coach, and managing her Web site and merchandise trailer. Bev handles the ins and outs of Danica's business needs.

Danica has a sister named Brooke.

Danica was raised in a non-religious family but circa 2005 she became Catholic.

Patrick is married to Paul Edward Hospenthal, who is sixteen years her senior. They were engaged Thanksgiving 2004, and married in a private ceremony on November 19, 2005 in Scottsdale, Arizona where they currently reside. Patrick had to receive medical attention for a hip she injured doing her "extreme yoga" when she was 20 years old. Paul had opened a physical therapy clinic, specializing in athletes, after attending the University of Puget Sound and that is where and when the two met.

Danica has been in talks to enter a "Secondary Trade School" to advance her career as a driver by familiarizing herself with the extremely technical details of the race car and allow her to better communicate with engineers in an effort to set the car up properly to turn faster times.

References

• Staff. “Danica Patrick 1982—” Biography Today 15(2): pp. 102-113 (April 2006)

News links

• 'Danica Mania' Seeks To Upstage Andretti, Unser Return To Indy
• Danica Patrick Finishes 12th In IRL Points
• Tony Stewart: Danica Patrick Has Earned Her Way

External links

• Danica Patrick's website
• Danica's Official Fan Club
• Danica Patrick's Biography at Team Honda IRL website
• Danica Patrick career statistics
• IndyCar Racing Super Star is New "Go Daddy" Girl
• Danica Patrick's weblog at GoDaddy.com
• Danica's GoDaddy announcement on Bob Parsons weblog