"I got here by determination": When Danica Patrick explained the “simple” blueprint behind her successful career

In 2017, Danica Patrick explained the "simple" methodology behind her successful racing career. The Wisconsin native is among the few female drivers who have earned exclusive accolades in motorsports.

Patrick has a racing pedigree. Her father Terry Jose Patrick Jr. competed in snowmobiles, midget cars, and motocross. At the budding age of 10, her racing passion ignited through karting at her hometown's Sugar River Raceway.

She entered NASCAR in 2010, running part-time Xfinity entries for JR Motorsports before landing a full-time deal with Stewart-Haas Racing, beginning the 2013 Cup Series season.

During her career, Danica Patrick claimed noteworthy triumphs such as earning the first female Cup Series pole sitter feat at the 2013 Daytona 500, securing the best-ever finish by a female driver in the Daytona 500 at P8, having the most top-10 finishes in NASCAR, and more.

During her final full-time NASCAR season, Jeff Gluck asked her how she became a successful racing driver.

"Your success as a driver, like how you got here. Is it because you’re naturally talented or your hard work?" Gluck asked (via Jeff Gluck.com).

Danica Patrick revealed her 'simple' blueprint that was the foundation for her motorsports success.

"Well, I got here by determination and believing I could. It’s that simple. And then I would say that to open it up to something that your question wasn’t exactly — I would say once you get to this level, I think we’re all talented, so then it depends on so many other circumstances, which is why you see a driver all of a sudden emerge and maybe submerge every now and again, depending on circumstances," Patrick replied.

Before stepping into the pinnacle of stock car racing, Patrick had already etched her name as the only female IndyCar driver to have won a race, which materialized in the 2008 Indy Japan 300 and is undisputed thus far.

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"I can't fake a fan": When Danica Patrick addressed the notion of pitching someone else's fans

Following Danica Patrick's simple success recipe of having determination and grit, Gluck expressed his intrigue about how she would pitch fans of Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and more, who either retired by 2017 or were about to conclude their career, to become hers.

The former driver gave a clear opinion, saying she can't just pitch a fan. She highlighted that alliances play a role in inheriting a fanbase; like when Chase Elliott and William Byron took over Jeff Gordon's #24 Chevy, a good portion of the fanbase linked to the driver, and the iconic car welcomed the successors with open arms.

However, if an alliance is not at play, then, according to Patrick, personality is the next thing responsible for attracting fans.

"I think you decide who you cheer for based on perhaps history, family, maybe who you used to cheer for — like if you cheered for Jeff Gordon, you may cheer for Chase Elliott now just based on the alliance with that number and team and history. But otherwise, it’s personality, and I can’t fake a fan. You really can’t. It will all come out eventually if you can for a little while," Danica Patrick said.

Another noteworthy example of an inherited fanbase is Dale Earnhardt Jr. The 15 consecutive-time NASCAR Most Popular Driver Award winner created a fanbase based on his personality and inherited many as he followed in his father Dale Sr.'s footsteps.