Fast Facts Redux: Danica Patrick

Danica Patrick at Atlanta (2015)
credit: Charlotte Bray/Skirts & Scuffs

Stewart-Haas Racing driver Danica Patrick is finally looking comfortable in the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet in the Sprint Cup Series – so comfortable that she set a new record for top 10 finishes by a woman in the series with her ninth-place finish at Bristol. Learn more about Patrick in this updated Fast Facts, which was originally published in Feb. 2011.

• Danica Sue Patrick was born March 25, 1982 in Beloit, Wisconsin. She grew up in Roscoe, Illinois and started racing go karts at age 10. She was a cheerleader at Hononegah Community High School before dropping out of school and getting her GED so she could go racing.
• At age 16, Patrick moved to England and competed in Formula Ford and Formula Vauxhall for three years. During that time, she finished second in Britain’s Formula Ford Festival, the highest finish ever by an American in the event.
• In 2002, she returned to the US and signed with Rahal Letterman Racing, running in the Barber Pro Series and the Toyota Atlantic Championship Series. In 2005 she made her IndyCar debut, and qualified and finished fourth in her first Indy 500. She won the Rookie of the Year Award for both the Indy 500 and the IndyCar season.
• In 2007, Patrick signed with Andretti Green Racing in Indycar. In 2008, Patrick became the first woman to win an IndyCar race when she won the Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi. In 2009, she finished third in the Indy 500 and finished fifth in the points standings, both the highest finishes of her career.
• In 2010, Patrick continued full-time in IndyCar with the renamed Andretti Autosport, and signed on with JR Motorsports for a part-time schedule in the Nationwide (now Xfinity) Series. She continued doing so through the 2011 season before leaving IndyCar for a full-time ride in the Nationwide Series and a part-time schedule in the Cup Series in 2012.
• In 2013, Patrick moved to Stewart-Haas Racing full-time in the No. 10, winning the pole position for the Daytona 500, the first woman to win a pole in a Sprint Cup Series race; she later became the first woman to lead under green in the Daytona 500 and went on to finish eighth.
• With her ninth-place finish at Bristol on April 19, Patrick broke her tie with Janet Guthrie for the most top-10 finishes in the Cup Series by a woman; she has six top-10 finishes in 90 career races through Bristol.
• Patrick married Paul Hospenthal in 2005; the couple announced their amicable divorce in Nov. 2012. In Jan. 2013, it was revealed she was dating fellow NASCAR driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr.; Stenhouse Jr. beat Patrick in the Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year competition that season.
• Find out more about Danica Patrick at http://www.danicaracing.com/.