Danica Patrick’s Racing Career

Danica Patrick began racing go-karts at just ten years old, and from then on was completely hooked! At the age of twelve, she earned the WKA Grand National Championship in the Yamaha class, and in 1996, at age fourteen, Danica established herself as a rising star in the world of karting by winning 39 of 49 feature races! Two years later, she made her debut in England in the Formula Vauxhaull Winter Series. The following year, 1999, she finished ninth in the Formula Vauxhaull Championship. That was her first full season in the UK.

The next year, 17-year-old Patrick finished second in the Formula Ford Festival in England. She had the highest ever finish for an American in that race! In 2001, she was awarded the Gorsline Scholarship Award for the top upcoming road-racing driver, as well as being recognized as the top female open-wheel driver with international experience. In 2002, she signed a multi-year racing contract with Team Rahal and was tabbed as the team’s driver for a Toyota Atlantic entry in 2003. That same year, she made her debut in Toronto, qualifying eleventh and finishing seventh! She collected her personal highest finish of the Barber-Dodge Pro Series with a fourth-place finish in Vancouver!

In 2003, Patrick raced to a sixth-place finish in the Toyota Atlantic Championship. That year she also became the first female to post a podium (top three) result in the Atlantic series’ 30-year history with a third-place finish in Mexico. She posted top five results that year in Denver, Cleveland, and Trois Rivieres, as well as making her season best second-place finish in Miami.

Last year, Patrick earned a third-place finish in the Toyota Atlantic Championship, posted 269 points, and earned ten top-five results in twelve races! She was the only driver in the Championship that year to complete every lap. Patrick has worked hard to earn respect in the world of professional racing, and I’m sure we can all look forward to many more spectacular performances from her!