Danica Patrick

She is the daughter of working-class parents Beverly Ann (née Flaten) and Terry Joseph "T. J." Patrick Jr. Her parents met on a blind date at a snowmobile event in the 1970s when Flaten was a mechanic for a friend's snowmobile.

Over the years, the couple has owned a Java Hut coffee shop and a glass company.

Patrick has a younger sister, Brooke, a pediatric physical therapist.

She is half Norwegian, as well as part Irish, French-Canadian, Italian, and Native American.

Patrick was raised in Roscoe, Illinois.

Danica Sue Patrick (born March 25, 1982) is an American former professional racing driver.

Patrick was born on March 25, 1982, in Beloit, Wisconsin.

Born to a working-class family in Beloit, Wisconsin, Patrick began karting at the age of ten and achieved early success by winning her class in the World Karting Association Grand National Championship three times in the mid-1990s.

She was a cheerleader at Hononegah Community High School in nearby Rockton in 1996.

She spent her off-time babysitting for a nearby family when she was not racing.

Initially she had no interest in racing; Patrick thought of a career as either a secretary, a singer, or a veterinarian.

When the girls were ten and eight respectively, their parents sought a hobby that would bring the family closer together.

They saved money to purchase a pontoon boat, but its owner did not respond to their offer.

The sisters told their parents of their wish to race go-karts after a friend of Brooke's allowed her to drive one; they were each given a go-kart.

Patrick began karting at Sugar River Raceway in Brodhead, Wisconsin.

Her father acted as her crew chief and her mother kept statistics on her racing.

Patrick had no role models or idols; she was never "striving to achieve female goals", but aspired to "be the best [she] could be."

In her debut race, she crashed into a concrete wall at 25 mph due to a brake failure.

She was not injured.

Patrick improved to finish second out of twenty drivers at the year's end after a twenty-two race schedule.

She gradually improved her eye to foot coordination, allowing her to set numerous age track records at Sugar River Raceway and Michiana Raceway Park.

Following her interest in kart racing, Patrick dabbled in snowmobiles, motocross, and midget car racing.

She dropped out of high school with her parents' permission in 1998, and moved to the United Kingdom to further her career.

Patrick competed in Formula Vauxhall and Formula Ford before returning to the United States in 2001 due to a lack of funding.

In 2002, she competed in five Barber Dodge Pro Series races for Rahal Letterman Racing.

Patrick later raced in the Toyota Atlantic Series for the next two years.

Her best effort was third in the championship standings for the 2004 season where she became the first woman to win a pole position in the series.

She first drove in the IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Racing in 2005 and took three pole positions, equaling Tomas Scheckter's record of poles in a rookie season.

She was named the Rookie of the Year for both the 2005 Indianapolis 500 and the 2005 IndyCar Series.

She improved over the next two years with Rahal Letterman Racing in 2006 and later Andretti Green Racing in 2007.

She is one of the most successful women in the history of American open-wheel car racing—her victory in the 2008 Indy Japan 300 is the only win by a woman in an IndyCar Series race.

In 2008, Patrick followed up her Japan victory to place sixth overall in the drivers' standings.

She improved on this to secure fifth the following season, which saw her finish a career-high third at the Indianapolis 500, the best performance by any woman at the race.

Patrick's overall form declined during 2010, but she still managed two-second-places at oval tracks before leaving IndyCar after the 2011 season to focus on stock car racing full-time.

Patrick began racing stock cars in 2010 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (now Xfinity Series) with her best result coming in the form of a fourth-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2011.

She placed a career-high tenth in the 2012 season standings and was the second woman to clinch a pole position in the Nationwide Series after Shawna Robinson in 1994.

Patrick started in the Sprint Cup Series (now NASCAR Cup Series) in 2012.

She became the first woman to win a Cup Series pole position by setting the fastest qualifying lap for the 2013 Daytona 500, finishing eighth.

Patrick bested Janet Guthrie's record for the most top-ten finishes by a woman in the Sprint Cup Series in 2015.

She stopped racing full-time after the 2017 season, but competed at the 2018 Daytona 500 and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 before officially retiring.