Patrick is a petite powerhouse from Roscoe, Ill. She started go-karting when she was ten and is now one of the most recognizable figures in American sports. She is considered by ESPNW.com to be, “A curiosity, an unwitting gender pioneer, a provocateur, at once the most popular and most polarizing of drivers.” She unapologetically wields her abilities to drive a race car and move product. Once an IndyCar driver, now a fulltime NASCAR convert, she said since turning 30 last month, “Things should really get good. GoDaddy ( her sponsor) hasn’t said they’re going to kick me out of being a GoDaddy girl because I’m in my 30s, so that’s a real positive for me and I think my 30s are going to be my best decade yet.”
She is the highest-finishing female in Indianapolis 500 history (third in 2009) and is the highest-finishing female in a NASCAR top-circuit race (fourth at Las Vegas in a Nationwide race in 2011).
She does not hope to eventually be another face in the crowd. “I enjoy being different,” she said. “I enjoy being unique. I enjoy it all. I really do. I choose to look at the positives that come with it instead of the negatives, but it is a balance.”
Equally as impressive as her on-track resume is her off-track credentials, in which she has become a mega pop-icon. She has graced the cover of Sports Illustrated, SHAPE, and ESPN the Magazine, and she was featured in the 2008 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. She has made guest appearances on a variety of television shows, including The Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Danica has appeared in numerous commercials, a Jay-Z music video, an episode of CSI:NY – she even played herself in an episode of The Simpsons. She’s starred in numerous Super Bowl ads for GoDaddy.com, including two in 2010 and holds the celebrity record with 10
Super Bowl commercials.
This is the 21st year Danica Patrick has been racing and she’s back after a whirlwind 30th birthday celebration that included a reunion with the guide of her offseason South African safari, a pool party at her home in Phoenix, a great girls’ night out, lounging on the beach and cruising on a boat in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and exquisite vistas and vintages in Northern California. “I think when I get away I sort of get away from being judged. “ she said. “There’s no more test. It’s over with. You can get away and not have to be so on. I think, most importantly, it helps me to get excited to get back in the car.”
At a recent news conference during the NASCAR Media Tour in Concord, N.C., Patrick confirmed she will not run in the Indianapolis 500 this season and instead will drive in the Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR’s longest race of the year at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day weekend as she shifts her focus to full-time NASCAR competition. Certainly, the decision was a difficult one for Patrick. She has often called the Indy 500 her “favorite race in the world.” That’s understandable considering that in seven starts, Patrick posted just one finish outside of the top 10. “I love everything about this place,” Patrick said at Indy last May. “I love the tradition. I love the race itself. So many times you can come away from this event, after 500 miles, and think of how your strategy could have put you in Victory Circle. I think that’s why people love this place and so many people come back.“
“Winning is always the goal. What it changes is things on the outside like the media, the endorsements and the fan attention. It doesn’t change me as a driver. One of the things that happens after I win, is I want to win again so quickly. I get a little taste and want it back.”
Look for Danica Patrick throughout the month -- she’s confident she won’t need to qualify for her next Sprint Cup race, at Darlington on May 12th. And we’ll see what happens at the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day.
If motivation drives success… we’ve got a winner!
Make may a winning month…and we’ll see you in the driver’s seat!