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Born to Race
Get to Know Danica Patrick
By Susan Brody
Danica Patrick wants to become the first woman driver to win the Indianapolis 500—and has already come pretty close.
Danica Patrick is like a lot of young women. She likes watching TV, working out, following the fashion world, and pampering herself with pedicures, facials and massages. Of course, unlike most women her age, Danica isn't struggling to figure out her career—she already has a job, one that involves driving a racecar at more than 200 miles per hour.
Indy 500 Firsts
Danica races in the Indy Racing League (IRL). In 2005, she became the fourth woman to compete in the Indy 500 and she was the first woman to ever lead a lap of the world's most famous race. She led a total of 19 laps, one of which came right near the end of the race—with just six laps to go and Danica in the lead, she had to slow down in order to save fuel, which allowed three cars to pass her. Danica finished fourth, the highest ever for a female driver and good enough to earn her the 2005 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award.
An Early Start
Danica first got behind the wheel of a go-kart at the age of 10. It was actually her younger sister, Brooke, who wanted to give the sport a try. But while Brooke lost interest quickly, Danica was hooked. As she wrote in her 2006 autobiography, Danica: Crossing the Line, "The exhilaration I felt when I stepped on the pedal of my first go-kart was enough to hook me for life. I loved going fast and steering my kart around tight corners and barreling down the straightaways. There was a freedom I felt unlike anything I had experienced. At age 10, I had found my life's passion."
It just might be that racing was in her blood—her dad used to race snowmobiles, midget cars and motocross. In fact, her parents met on a blind date at a snowmobile race. "I tried a lot of different things when I grew up. I did jazz class, tumbling, volleyball, basketball, band, choir, track," Danica says. "But it was racing that really was exciting to me. I don't know exactly what it was, but it just caught me. I use this comparison all the time, but whether I'm ironing a shirt and it goes from wrinkly to flat or whether I'm driving a race car and the lap times come down and down and down or the average speed goes up and up and up, it's kind of an immediate gratification. That to me was exciting."
Injury Leads to Love
Like most athletes, Danica needs to keep in shape, as driving a race car takes both strength and endurance (as well as lots of mental toughness). She does about an hour of cardiovascular training a day and also lifts weights every other day for another hour. She also has practiced yoga, which in 2001 caused her to injure her hip. Danica went to a physical therapist and they hit it off from the start. "I asked him if he wanted to go out for dinner, and he said yes. We have never stopped talking to each other since." Danica and Paul Hospenthal were married in late 2005 and now live in Phoenix.
Proving Herself
The world of IndyCar racing is dominated by men—as was the world of go-karting when Danica was growing up. While Danica has faced finger-pointing and questions most of her life, overall, the doubts only made her work harder. "I had to keep proving myself over and over and over again," she says. "But I think ultimately I'm no different than any other young driver trying to make it. You just have to be persistent and consistent with it. You have to keep trying and trying and trying for someone to believe in you and give you the opportunity that you need to show them that you're 'the man' or woman for the job. I think that's what I've done."
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