“Wrong”: Danica Patrick uses her NASCAR background in standing against controversial boxing verdict in Olympics

Former NASCAR driver Danica Patrick recently took to her Instagram stories to express her resentment towards how the fight between Italian boxer Angela Carini and her Algerian opponent Imane Khelif ended. After just 46 seconds in, Carini withdrew from the fight and Khelif was announced the winner

The Aglerian was previously disqualified from the 2023 world championships as she had failed to clear a gender eligibility test. Needless to say, her candidature in the Summer Olympics this year has given rise to an array of controversies.

Angela Carini dropped to her knees and broke into tears. She knew her Olympic debut was over. Moments later, she said that she had opted out of the fight due to the excruciating pain from Khelif's jab.

Danica Patrick wasn't happy with the way the fight ended. The 2008 Indy Japan 300 winner posted a clip showing the Italian boxer raising her arm to indicate that she no longer wanted to fight Khelif, and captioned it:

"Wrong. And this is coming from a girl who raced with boys."

Danica Patrick's Instagram story (Source: Danica Patrick/Instagram)

Today, Danica Patrick is one of the most successful women in NASCAR. She was the first woman to win a pole in a NASCAR race. She also made the highest finish in the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500 by any woman in the history of American Open-Wheel racing.

Danica Patrick won the Rookie of the Year honors in both the 2005 Indianapolis 500 and the 2005 season of the IndyCar series. She was voted the 'Most Popular Driver' in the IndyCar Series from 2005 to 2010. In 2012, she received the NASCAR Nationwide Series 'Most Popular Driver' award.

Danica Patrick reveals her take on fan sentiment

Needless to say, Patrick has a lot of fans from all over the country. She has almost a million followers on Instagram alone. At 42, the Wisconsin native is an author, a podcast host, and the owner of two renowned wine companies and a premium luxury candle brand called 'Voyant by Danica'.

Patrick has a lot of fans on social media, but she herself is a fan of motorsports. However, in a recent interview with Jeff Gluck of "The Athletic", Patrick explained that fandom cannot be induced.

"Man, I don’t think you can pitch a fan," Patrick told Gluck. "I think a fan is your fan because they decide to be and not because you’re offering free candies or a lifetime of happiness."

"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," she added.

It is safe to assume that every fan, regardless of the driver they support, awaits NASCAR's return to Sonoma on August 11th after the Paris Olympics are over.