Danica Patrick– Biography, Facts & Life Story
Danica Patrick is an American race car driver who made history by becoming the first woman to win a ‘IndyCar’ championship race. She is considered one of the most successful female auto racers, having won the ‘Rookie of the Year’ award at the 2005 ‘Indianapolis 500’ and the 2005 ‘IndyCar Series seasons.
Danica Patrick- Early Life
Danica Patrick was born in Beloit, Wisconsin, on March 25, 1982. Her parents, Beverly Anna and Terry Joseph Patrick Jr., raced snowmobiles, motocross, and midget cars. She grew up in Roscoe, Illinois, and was a cheerleader at Hononegah Community High School. Dani started karting at Sugar River Raceway in Brodhead, Wisconsin, and during her first race, she crashed into a concrete wall due to a brake failure.
The author raced karts all over the Midwest, winning ten regional championships and the World Karting Association Grand National Championship. In 1996, she started the Lyn St. James Foundation Driver Development program. With her parents’ permission, Patrick dropped out of high school in the middle of her junior year to pursue a racing career in England.
Danica Patrick: Net Worth 2022/2023
Danica Patrick is an American race car driver, model, and spokesperson with a net worth of $80 million. She is widely regarded as the most successful female driver in American open-wheel racing history. Her win in the Indy Japan 300 in 2008 is the only female win in an IndyCar Series race.
At the height of her racing career, the model earned well over $10 million per year, split roughly evenly between salary/winnings and endorsements. Her brand endorsements are probably more well-known than her racing career. Her brand endorsements include Chevrolet, Coca-Cola, Nationwide Insurance, and Tissot. She was best known, however, for her long-running partnership with GoDaddy.
Danica Patrick’s Career
At age ten, Danica Patrick began racing go-karts in her hometown of Beloit, Wisconsin. After national success in go-karts, she dropped out of high school at the age of 16 to race Formula Fords and Vauxhalls in the United Kingdom. Patrick placed second in the 2000 Formula Ford Festival, the best result ever for an American in that crucible for future professionals.
After former Indy driver Bobby Rahal signed her to her first U.S. Indy-car racing contract in 2002, the model returned to the United States. She was then promoted to Toyota Formula Atlantic open-wheel cars. Despite never winning in that series, she placed third overall in the drivers’ standings in 2004, earning her a spot in the Indianapolis 500. Janet Guthrie, Lyn St. James, and Sarah Fisher were three other women who had qualified for the Indy 500, the most prestigious auto race in the United States.
In 2010, the spokesperson started racing in NASCAR’s lower-tier Nationwide Series and later moved on to IndyCar racing. Patrick announced in August 2011 that she would make a full-time career in NASCAR in 2012, competing in both Nationwide and Sprint Cup (top-tier) races. Dani was the first woman to lead a lap in that race and finished eighth. After the Indy 500 the following year, she announced her retirement in 2017. Patrick crashed on lap 68 of that race.
Several books by the auto racing driver have been published, including the memoir Crossing the Line (2006) and Pretty Intense: The 90-Day Mind, Body, and Food Plan That Will Change Your Life (2017). She later went on to host the Pretty Intense podcast. Dani also dabbled in acting, with a role in the film Charlie’s Angels among her credits (2019).
Danica Patrick: Relationship Status
Danica Patrick married Paul Edward Hospenthal, her physical therapist, in 2005. After suffering a hip injury during a yoga session, she ended up in his office three years after meeting. After seven years of marriage, she filed for divorce in January 2013.
Dani was rumored to be dating Ricky Stenhouse Jr., the two-time ‘Nationwide Series‘ champion, in 2012. In 2017, they called it quits. In February 2018, she began dating NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers. All of this is in the past for the pro-racer, as she is currently dating Carter Comstock.
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