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Danica Patrick

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Danica Sue Patrick (born (1982-03-25) March 25, 1982 (age 42) in Beloit, Wisconsin) is an American auto racing driver competing in the Indy Racing League (IRL). She is from an Irish-American family and was raised in Roscoe, Illinois. Patrick was named Rookie of The Year in the 2005 IRL Championship. Although she has won several pole positions in qualifying, she has never won a major auto race. In May 2006, she published her autobiography, Danica: Crossing the Line.

Early racing career

Patrick began gokarting in 1992 at babger kart club, 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.

IRL 2005

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 race 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 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 1 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, besting the previous record of ninth set by Janet Guthrie in 1978. Patrick led 19 laps overall.

In 2005, she finished 12th in the IRL 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 IRL 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.

IRL 2006

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 have struggled to grasp a hold of them. Patrick has 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.

Future Plans

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.[1] She will be driving a car sponsored by telecommunications giant Motorola, as well XM radio[2] and Go Daddy.

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[1]. 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."

Other fans have claimed Patrick, as a rare female driver, has benefited from her minority status. They claim that most rookie 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.

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." [3]

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. [4]

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 since A.J. Foyt from the May 25, 1981 issue, and the first Indianapolis 500 cover picture since showing Danny Sullivan's car in the aftermath of his spin while leading in 1985.

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 appears in Secret deodorant commercials and 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.

Family

Danica's parents are T.J. and Bev Patrick. T.J. and Bev met on a blind date at a snowmobile event 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.

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. The two met in 2002 when Patrick had to receive medical attention for a hip she injured doing her "extreme yoga" when she was 20 years old.

References

  1. ^ "Robby Gordon not buying into Danica mania". Associated Press. 2005-05-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
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