"I just want to be remembered as a great driver": When Danica Patrick made emotional retirement announcement from NASCAR

On November 17, 2017, Danica Patrick announced her retirement from full-time Cup Series racing. During the time of her announcement, she turned emotional and said that she wanted to be remembered as a woman who was a "great driver" in the sport.

Patrick is one of the leading women in stock car racing both in the United States and in the world. Besides NASCAR, she also has impressive records in IndyCar, which in a nutshell, made her a trailblazer in women's motorsport.

After a decent six years into the top tier of stock car racing, the Cup Series, Patrick decided to hang up her racing overalls at the end of the 2017 season. Even though she kept part-time obligations in mind, she made up her mind that her Cup Series future as a full-timer was over.

"This will be my last season as a full-time driver," Patrick stated in an emotional retirement announcement. "My sister told me I was supposed to get emotional. I said I wouldn't. Thank you to Tony and Jean. Too many of you here, I'm really excited. I actually have something really exciting to tell you."

"I'm excited about next phase, trust me. I'm just seeing 100 of you. But thank you to my mom and dad, my sister, Chase, Ricky. Thank you for everything," she added.

With this, the former Stewart-Haas Racing driver also stated,

“I just want to be remembered as a great driver who was also a woman." (As per USA Today)

Danica Patrick took part in 191 races in over seven years, where she racked up a pole position and seven Top 10s. Besides being the first woman to win a pole in NASCAR, she became the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series Most Popular Driver.

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Danica Patrick once 'wished to have more patience' with rivals during racing

During his racing days, Danica Patrick once wished to have more patience while dealing with fellow drivers in case of on-track skirmishes. The former driver once opened up about her tendency to escalate matters to a different level, but she wished to keep them under control.

"Maybe wait for Phase Three," Patrick said. "Like Phase One, they’re mean. Phase Two, I’m like, “Come on buddy.” And then the next one is, maybe it’s (Phase) Four, and then he responds, and then it’s like, “OK, you wanna go? Let’s go.” Because yeah, I’m just not very shy and I have no problem with confrontations. So I kind of go right to the end of it. So I wish I was a little more patient in that category."

Like every NASCAR driver, Danica Patrick got herself involved in multiple on-track skirmishes, such as with Denny Hamlin in 2015 during the pre-Daytona 500 duel.

Patrick also had a decent Xfinity Series run where she competed in 61 races in over five years and claimed a pole position and seven Top 10s. In IndyCar, the 42-year-old has 116 races in eight years under her belt, where she claimed a win (she became the first woman in IndyCar to win a race after she won the 2008 Indy Japan 300), three pole positions and seven podiums.