Danica Patrick, born March 25, 1982 in Beloit, Wisconsin, is in her fourth season and is the only woman who has won on the IndyCar Series.
Rookie of the year in 205 in the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar Series season, she made history in April with her win in Indy Japan 300.
Patrick, 26, began go-karting in 1992 at Sugar River Raceway outside of Brodhead, Wisconsin and went on to win several national championships.
To advance her racing career, she moved to England at age 16. Focusing primarily on road racing, Patrick raced in several developmental open-wheel series while in Europe, including Formula Ford and Formula Vauxhall.
Patrick earned a second-place in England's Formula Ford Festival, the highest-ever finish by a woman or an American in the event.
In 2002, Patrick signed a multi-year deal to race for the Bobby Rahal team. After making several starts in the Barber Dodge Pro Series, she moved to the Toyota Atlantic Championship for 2003. Driving for Rahal Letterman Racing had Patrick had moderate success in the Toyota Atlantic series.
During her time in Atlantic series, she won one pole and was a consistent top-three finisher, but never won a race.
Patrick also made an appearance in the American Le Mans Series, driving for the Prodrive Ferrari team to 10th place at the 2003 Grand Prix of Atlanta. She would attempt sports cars later in her career with a run at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2006.
After the 2004 racing season, Rahal Letterman Racing announced Patrick would drive in the IRL IndyCar Series for 2005.
Following Janet Guthrie, Lyn St. James and Sarah Fisher, Patrick in 2005 became the fourth woman to compete in the Indianapolis 500. After posting the fastest practice speed (229.880 mph) during the morning practice session on the first day of qualifications, Patrick made an error in the first turn of her first qualifying lap, and failed to capture the pole position. She started fourth — the highest ever by a woman.
Patrick became the first woman to lead the Indy 500. She first led it for lap near the 125-mile (201 km) mark while cycling through pit stops. Late in the race, she stayed out one lap longer than her rivals during a set of green-flag pit stops.
Patrick overcame two crucial errors to finish fourth in the race. Patrick's car stalled in the pits about halfway through the race, dropping her to the middle of the field. Shortly after reclaiming a spot in the top 10, Patrick spun on a caution period just before an intended green flag leading to a four-car accident.
Patrick's fourth place was the highest finish woman the Indy 500, eclipsing Janet Guthrie’s ninth place in 1978.
On July 2, 2005, Patrick won her first pole position, leading a 1-2-3 sweep by Rahal Letterman Racing at Kansas Speedway. She
became the second woman to accomplish this feat in the IndyCar Series, the first being Sarah Fisher in 2002 at Kentucky Speedway. On August 13, 2005, she won her second pole at Kentucky Speedway, although this time, rain prematurely ended qualifying and position was determined by speeds achieved during practice. She took a third pole at Chicagoland Speedway, which tied her with Tomas Scheckter's record for number of pole positions earned in a rookie season.
On July 25, 2006, Patrick announced she had signed a deal to drive for Andretti Green Racing, replacing Bryan Herta in the number 7 Dallara Honda car beginning in 2007.
In the 2007 season, Patrick scored her first three career podium finishes to finish with 4 top 5's and 11 top 10's while leading 17 laps on the season. She also scored her career best championship points finish of 7th with 424 points.
With her win in Japan, Patrick joined drag racer Shirley Muldowney, who won three NHRA Top Fuel Championships as a "first female" winner in the top tier of American motorsports.
Patrick took the Indy Japan 300 after the race leaders were forced to pit for fuel in the final laps. She finished 5.8594 seconds ahead of the Brazilian pole-sitter Helio Castroneves on the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) Twin Ring Motegi oval.
Prior to Japan win, the most notable criticism of Patrick was that she had not won a race in three years of IRL competition and still garnered significant media attention. She is frequently promoted in mainstream and motorsport media and has been compared to female athletes like Anna Kournikova for her apparent willingness to be marketed on her looks. She has appeared in FHM in April 2003 and Sports Illustrated in June 2005 and February 2008.
Before 2008, some racing journalists, IndyCar fans, and other drivers claimed that Patrick’s low weight (she’s 5-foot-2, 100 pounds) gave her an advantage in the IndyCar series. It has a minimum weight set for the cars, but not a minimum for the driver's weight
Patrick was featured on the cover of the June 6, 2005 issue of Sports Illustrated, making her the first Indianapolis 500 driver on the cover since Al Unser following his upset fourth victory in 1987.
After her participation in the 2005 Indianapolis 500, Patrick was asked to appear in by Playboy but declined
Patrick is married to Paul Edward Hospenthal, who had previously been her physical therapist.
