Danica Patrick will join IndyCar's FOX team for the Indy 500: Report

Danica Patrick will reportedly return as a presenter for the 109th running of the Indy 500. The retired IndyCar and NASCAR driver will join FOX's broadcasting team. FOX took over as IndyCar's exclusive broadcasting partner from NBC Sports in 2025.

Patrick retired from professional racing in 2018 after racing in the 102nd running of the Indy 500, where she crashed out. From 2019 onwards, she became a part of NBC Sports' broadcasting team for the Greatest Spectacle of Racing until last year.

With NBC no longer serving as IndyCar's official broadcasting partner, the 43-year-old will join the FOX team for the 500 this year. As per reporter Tony Donohue, Danica Patrick will cover the qualifying weekend on May 17 and 18, and the race on May 25.

Patrick's last experience at the prestigious race turned out to be picture-perfect. Heavy rains had delayed the start of the race by four hours, and when it finally got underway, it was an absolute thriller with Josef Newgarden winning it for the second time in a row with a final lap pass on Pato O'Ward.

Patrick encapsulated her experience in an Instagram post after the race, captioning it:

"What a fun Indy 500 weekend!!!!! The rain came and then the skies cleared for a great race! Truly my favorite race in the world!"

Patrick is also part of the Sky Sports F1 team this year, and it is likely that she will be in the paddock to cover the Miami Grand Prix this upcoming weekend from May 2 to 4. In the same weekend, IndyCar will also race at Barber Motorsports Park for the Children's of Alabama Grand Prix.

Danica Patrick remains the most successful woman to have raced the Indy 500

Scott Dixon, Helio Castroneves, and Danica Patrick at the 2018 Indianapolis 500 - Source: Getty

Danica Patrick made her debut at the Indy 500 in 2005 with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. She qualified in an impressive fourth position with a speed of 227.004 mph, and was the best qualifier among the four rookies.

Patrick became the first woman to lead the Indy 500, leading 19 laps over three stints. She made the crowd roar after passing Dan Wheldon for the lead on a lap 190 restart. However, she was running out of fuel and couldn't race at 100%. Consequently, she finished where she started - in P4, still a mammoth feat. She was awarded the Rookie of the Year for the Indy 500 and the IndyCar championship that year.

Four years later, in the 2009 Indy 500, Danica Patrick one-upped herself. The then-Andretti driver started 10th on the grid and gained seven positions to finish P3 on the podium at the Greatest Spectacle of Racing. To date, that was the best finish by a woman at the premier IndyCar race.