Danica Patrick

Danica Patrick is a retired American professional racing driver born in Beloit, Wisconsin on March 25, 1982. She is the most successful woman driver in American open-wheel racing and is the only woman to win an IndyCar Series race. She started kart racing at ten years old and in the 1990s won three World Karting Association Grand National Championships. She moved to the United Kingdom in 1998 to further her racing career. She competed in Formula Ford and Formula Vauxhall and moved back to the United States in 2001. In 2004 she became the first woman to win a pole position in the Toyota Atlantic Series and in 2005 drove in the Indycar Series with Rahal Letterman Racing and took three pole positions. She was named Rookie of the Year for the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar Series in 2005. In 2008 she finished 6th in the Indie Japan 300 and in 2009 she finished third at the Indianapolis 500. In 2010 she started racing stock cars in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and in 2013 became the first woman to win a Cup Series pole position by setting the fastest qualifying lap for the 2013 Daytona 500, finishing 8th. She announced she would be stepping away from racing full-time after the 2017 season, but ended up competing in the 2018 Daytona 500 and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 and officially retired in 2018.