When Danica Patrick deemed NASCAR a 'political game'

Former racing driver, Danica Patrick, is easily one of the most recognizable faces in the world of American motorsports. Having competed in various racing categories until 2018, in the same year, she took the time to look back on her long NASCAR stint.

Patrick's first outing in NASCAR's Xfinity Series came in 2010, however, from 2012 onwards, she started competing in the Cup Series on a full-time basis.

In line with this and her overall count of 191 Cup Series outings, she deemed stock car racing as more of a political game. Back in 2018, she said (via IndyStar):

“It was more of a people, political game. I never felt like I was accepted in the game at the level I needed to be. I got the right people and the right extent of help. It’s not to say I didn’t have good cars. I had good cars. But the difference between a good car and a great car is the difference between contending for wins and top 5s and being in the top 20."

During her NASCAR career, Danica Patrick amassed seven top tens and a solitary pole position in the Cup Series as well as the Xfinity Series. Her last stock car outing was at the 2018 Daytona 500.

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Danica Patrick name-dropped legendary drivers she would've loved to race against

While Danica Patrick came up with her fascinating take on NASCAR being a political game back in 2018, she recently talked about a legendary NASCAR and Formula 1 driver.

Four weeks back, the 43-year-old made an appearance on the 'outkickthecoverage' show where she was asked to name drivers (dead or alive) that she would've loved to race against.

In response, Patrick took the name of late Dale Earnhardt Sr. (seven-time Cup Series champion) and the late F1 legend Ayrton Senna (three-time world champion).

"Well, so I'm assuming I'll be going to be racing against them, they are not in my car, right? I'm racing against them, driving. Well, maybe I'll just do a hybrid. Let's see because I think I'd probably wanna see how I stacked up against Ayrton Senna, which was, he was one of the greats in Formula 1. Maybe get out there and door bang with Dale Earnhardt Sr." Patrick said.

Danica Patrick, to date, is the only woman driver to triumph in an IndyCar race. She achieved this feat in 2008 at the Japan Indy 300.

Since retiring from competitive racing in 2018 at the Indy 500, she has become a renowned motorsports pundit. She even made appearances on Season 7 (2024) of the well-known Drive to Survive Series, which is based on Formula 1.