DARING DANICA
By: Hope Wilkos, Writer/Blogger Photographer: George Whylie Videographer: Maxine Nolan
There are not many women as daring as Danica Patrick in the world of Auto Racing. The long list of winning drivers have traditionally been men. But that tradition is meant to be broken.
Danica is only 29 years old with scores of races under her belt, no fear of the fast and the furious and just a couple of days ago won the pole for the season-opening Nationwide Series Daytona 500 Race, becoming the first woman to secure the top qualifying spot in NASCAR’s second-tier series since Shawna Robinson in Atlanta on March 12, 1994.
Born in Wisconsin, Danica had a love for cars and racing at a very young age. She began go-karting at the age of 10. At 16, she moved to Milton Keynes, England to race in British National Series events and earned 2nd place in Britain’s Formula Ford Festival, the highest finish for a woman in the event. In 2002, Patrick began racing in the United States to further her career.
Patrick can boast such esteemed honors as the only woman to win the IndyCar Series in 2008 in the Indy Japan 300 and the highest finish by a woman at the Indianapolis 500 where she took 3rd place. She competed from 2005 to 2011 with fervor, dedication and a true love of the sport. She drove for Rahal Letterman Racing and then Andretti Autosport.
She decided to move over to the NASCAR Nationwide Series where she has driven for GoDaddy.com and JR Motorsports. Her career peaked on March 5th, 2011, as she finished 4th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway-the best finish by a woman in a NASCAR top-circuit.
There is also a very feminine side to Danica Patrick. She has hosted some televisions shows such as ‘Powerblock’, been on “Late Show with David Letterman” and “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and had a part on CSI : NY. She has done some modeling and has been featured in the 2008 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, had an appearance in Jay-Z’s music video, “Show Me What You Got” and participated as a model in the 2007 Red Dress Collection for the Heart Truth Campaign.
In 2007, she was voted sexiest athlete in the Victoria’s Secret “What is Sexy” list and #42 in 2006 and #85 in 2007 of the 100 most sexiest women in the world by FHM Magazine.
In the world of philanthropy, Danica is spokesperson for Drive4COPD. This organization promotes awareness for chronic pulmonary disease. Because she lost her grandmother to the disease, it is especially important to her to educate and build awareness throughout the globe.
Today, February 26th, Danica Patrick makes her Sprint Cup debut at the Daytona 500 in Daytona Beach, Florida. She has stiff competition in this race but her qualifying lap of 49.250 seconds around the high-banked speedway, an average of 182.741 mph, is evidence that she is up for the challenge.
We wish Danica Patrick best of luck, go beat them and stay safe!!
PHOTOS COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA and GOOGLE IMAGES
Comments are closed.