Danica Patrick was born on March 25, 1982 in Beloit, Wisconsin to Bey and T.J. Patrick. She has one sister named Brooke. Her family moved to Roscoe, Illinois when she was young.
Became interested in racing in 1992 (at the age of 10) following her older sister. She took up Karting and went on to win many championships over the next few year.
Although she began attending High School (Hononegah Community High School), she dropped out and earned a GED in order to pursue a racing career.
She moved to England in 1998 to try her hand at open wheel – Indy style racing. She had a formidable career racing in Europe. In 2001 she won the Gorsline Scholarship Award for top upcoming road racing driver, and eventually finished third in the Toyota Atlantic Championship in 2004 and becaming the first female driver to ever will a pole position for this series before leaving Europe to come back to the U.S.
Danica Patrick gained international fame in 2004 when she announced that she was gong to race in the IRL IndyCar Series for the 2005 season. She did not disappoint her fans and spectators and has proven worthy. In May (29th) she became the fourth woman to race in the Indianapolis 500 She made history and finished the race in fourth place and lead the race for 19 laps. She has also brought new fan interest to IRL racing.
Not only is Danica a talented driver, she is also a beautiful woman which can be seen by her poses in the July 2005 issue of FHM magazine.
She found love in 2005 and became engaged to Paul Hospenthal (physical therapist); Hospenthal is 16 years older than Patrick. They were married on November 19th, 2005 in Scottsdale, Arizona. They currently live in Phoenix, Arizona (when not racing).
Danica Patrick Career Highlights:
2006.
* Finished in eighth place Indianapolis 500.
2005.
* Finished Fourth in the IRL IndyCar Series Championship (with 325points).
* Made her IRL IndyCar Series debut on March 6th in the Toyota Indy 300 (at Homestead-Miami Speedway). She did not finish the race due to an eight-car accident.
* Fourth woman in history to race in the Indianapolis 500 on May 29th – she finished in fourth place (during the race, she also lead a few laps -- the first woman to do so).
2004.
* Finished Third in the Toyota Atlantic Championship (with 269 points).
* Ten top-five results in twelve races (1 2nd, 2 3rd, 5 4th, and 2 5th).
* Only driver to finish all 417 laps.
* First female driver to win a pole position at for Toyota Atlantic races.
2003.
* Finished sixth in Toyota Atlantic Championship with 109 pointes.
* Had five top-five finishes in Toyota Atlantic races (1 2nd, 3rd,
3 5th) and placed in the top ten - ten times in twelve races.
* First woman to finish in top three in Toyota Atlantic Championship races.
2002.
* Signed with Team Rahal (Rahal-Letterman Racing) for multi-year contract.
* Debuted on July 7th at Toronto.
* Finished 13th with 35 points in five races in the Barber-Dodge series. Her best finish was fourth.
2001.
* Won Gorsline Scholarship Award for top upcoming road racing driver.
* Competed in both the US and Great Britain.
2000.
* Competed in Formula Ford Festival in England – came in second, the highest ever by an American.
1999.
* Finished ninth in Formula Vauxhall Championship (England).
1998.
* Made debut in England (Formula Vauxhall Championship) after attending the Formula Ford racing school.
* Competed in a few Karting racing.
1997.
* Won the World Karting Association’s Grand National Championship in the HPV class.
* Won the World Karting Association’s Grand National Championship and the Summer National Championship in the Yamaha Lite class.
* Tenth place finish in Formula A Elk Constructors Championship.
1996.
* Won 39 of the 49 Karting races she competed in.
* Won the World Karting Association’s Manufactuireres Cup National. Points title for Yamaha Junior and Restricted Junior classes.
1995.
* Won the World Karting Association Great Lakes Sprint Series title for Yamaha Restricted Junior and US 820 Junior classes.
1994.
* Won the World Karting Association Manufacturer’s Cup title in Yamaha Sportsman class.
* Won the World Karting Association Grand National Championship in the Yamaha class.
1993.
* Finished second in World Karting Association Midwest Sprint Series in Yamaha and US820 clases.
1992.
* Began racing at the age of 10. Finished her first season in second place in points for her class.
