Danica Patrick, USA
Motorsport
There is every chance you won’t have seen one second of NASCAR or IndyCar action, but you’ll definitely know who Danica Patrick is. The Wisconsin native is the most famous and most successful female race-car driver in history. A glittering career came to a close in 2018 and her departure is a massive loss for the sport. Indeed, Patrick’s evolution from 10-year-old kart driver to motorsport icon is revolutionary. She became the first woman to lead the Indianapolis 500 back in 2005, then later the first to win an IndyCar Series race at the 2008 Indy Japan 300. If you need to gauge just how popular she was, for six years running Patrick was awarded the IndyCar Series ‘Most Popular Driver’ with fans swept up by her zeal and talent. After nearly 400 races on the IndyCar and NASCAR circuits, Patrick put the brakes on her fascinating professional racing career last year, signing off at the Daytona 500 – where she won pole in 2013 – and then finally the Indy 500. She continues to inspire, however, now shifting her focus to a deep passion for fitness, releasing a new book last year called ‘Pretty Intense’.
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– In 2017 her documentary, ‘Danica’, was released detailing Patrick’s life outside of motorsport.
– Patrick holds the record for having the highest starting place of any woman, the highest finishing place of any woman, more laps completed in a single race than any other woman, more laps led in her career than any other woman, and the most top ten starts of any female driver in the history of NASCAR.
– She hopes to use her new fitness book as a springboard to other business ventures within the industry.
Did you know…
Patrick is a lover of the NFL and regularly attends matches during the season to support her boyfriend, the Green Bay Packers quarter-back Aaron Rodgers. In fact, she has appeared in 14 Super Bowl commercials over the years, most of them with her main sponsor GoDaddy.
“Take those chances and you can achieve greatness, whereas if you go conservative, you’ll never know. I truly believe what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Even if you fail, learning and moving on is sometimes the best thing.” – Danica Patrick (Source: CNBC)
Twitter: @DanicaPatrick
Instagram: @danicapatrick
