“It wasn’t a complete anomaly”: When Danica Patrick came clean on her experiences of women in racing 

Danica Patrick, the 2008 Japan Indy 300 winner, is the only woman to date to achieve a victory in IndyCar. She brought the shutter down on her racing career in 2018. While reflecting on her overall journey in 2021, she took the time to talk about being a woman racer in a male-dominated sport.

In line with this, Danica Patrick had a conversation with Metal Life Magazine as she said:

"No, because that wasn’t the way I was brought up. It wasn’t like I was the only one. Sometimes, there was another girl out there. I mean, shoot, at first, my sister did it too. It wasn’t a complete anomaly, it was just more rare. My dad taught me to be the fastest driver, period. All through my Go Karting career, it was not about being the fastest. It was not about being the fastest girl."

Patrick's career at the top level of American motorsports began in 2005 at the Toyota Indy 300. In the same year, she was even chosen as the Indy 500 Rookie of the Year.

The 43-year-old, in her overall IndyCar career, managed 116 Grand Prix outings, during which she put on board seven podiums, three pole positions and a solitary Grand Prix win. Her last competitive outing also came in the same sport in 2018 at the Indy 500.

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Danica Patrick's take on the prospect of death during racing career

While Danica Patrick talked in detail about being a woman driver in motorsports back in 2021, via the same interaction, she was also asked whether she ever thought about a serious injury or even death during her racing career. The 43-year-old said she never really gave an in-depth thought about such things as she noted:

"It is an awareness, but I don’t think it’s something you really think about a lot. I guess sometimes it’s contrast that gives you that perspective, in hindsight."

Patrick, other than her heroics in the highest class of open-wheel racing in America, also tried her hand at stock car racing. She competed in NASCAR's Cup series and the Xfinity Series from 2010 onwards.

Her maiden outing in the Xfinity Series came at the 2010 DRIVE4COPD Daytona 300, whereas her first outing in the widely popular Cup Series came in 2012 (Daytona 500). Interestingly, Patrick managed an identical record in both series in terms of top-ten finishes and pole positions (seven top-tens, 1 pole position).

Since hanging up her racing boots, Danica Patrick has ventured into podcasting "Pretty Intense", running several businesses, and also making appearances as a pundit covering top motorsports like Formula 1, IndyCar and NASCAR.