Danica Patrick, an American former professional racing driver and model, is in the spotlight for supporting Donald Trump but wasn’t invited to the Mar-a-Lago after-party.
She retired from racing and pursued her passion in various projects, like hosting podcasts and speaking engagements.
Highlights
- Danica Patrick’s victory in the 2008 Indy Japan 300 is the only win by a woman in an IndyCar Series race.
- After retiring, she hosts a weekly podcast and discusses success, spirituality, and consciousness with guests.
- Her net worth is estimated at $80 million, and at the peak of her career, she earned $10 million annually.
Danica Sue Patrick thought of a career as a secretary, singer, or veterinarian but started karting at 10 at Sugar River Raceway in Brodhead, Wisconsin.
She never strived to achieve female goals but aspired to be the best she could be. Thus, she had no role models.
Due to a break failure in her debut race, she crashed into a concrete wall at 25 mph but wasn’t injured. Later, she gradually improved her eye-to-foot coordination.
Danica won the World Karting Association Grand National Championship in the Yamaha Sportsman, ten regional karting titles, and three HPV classes.
In 1996, she joined the Lyn St. James Foundation Driver Development Program, where she refined her driving abilities and learned about auto racing’s business ventures.
Moreover, she dropped out of high school in 1998 and relocated to the United Kingdom to further her racing career.
The professional racer competed at the 2018 Daytona 500 and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 before retiring.
Danica Patrick Became A Weekly Podcast Host And Race Pundit
Danica Patrick is among the most successful women in American open-wheel car racing history. Her victory in the 2008 Indy Japan 300 is the only win by a woman in an IndyCar Series race.
In addition to racing, she hosted several television shows and was featured in the 2005 documentary Girl Racers.
Danica published her autobiography, Danica: Crossing the Line, in 2006 and drove a Pagani Zonda Roadster in Jay-Z’s music video of “Show Me What You Got” in the same year.
She is also an actress who appeared in CSI: NY, portraying the role of a race car driver suspected of murder.
On February 21, 2015, NASCAR on Fox hired her as a booth analyst for Xfinity Series races and provided commentary for the race at Michigan.
In June 2017, she worked alongside Denny Hamlin, joining Fox’s Cup driver-only broadcast of the Xfinity Series race at Pocono Raceway.
Danica published her second book, Pretty Intense” on December 26, 2017. Since 2019, she has been a studio analyst for NBC’s broadcasts of the Indianapolis 500 each year.
After retiring, she focused on her weekly podcast Pretty Intense, where she discusses success, spirituality, and consciousness with guests.
She became a pundit for the Sky Sports F1 broadcast team for the 2021 United States Grand Prix and also commentated on Superstar Racing Experience events on CBS in 2021.
The former racer was a guest color commentator for the NASCAR Cup Series races at Las Vegas and Phoenix for Fox in 2022 and 2023.
Moreover, in 2024, she became a pundit for the sixth season of the Netflix documentary Formula 1: Drive to Survive.
Danica Patrick’s Net Worth Is Estimated At $80 Million
Danica Patrick earned $10 million annually at the peak of her racing career, split roughly evenly between salary/winnings and endorsements.
IMG Talent Agency and Excel Sports Management represented her, and she appeared in advertising campaigns for Lyft, AirTran Airways, William Rast, Secret, Tissot, Hot Wheels, Coca-Cola, and Chevrolet.
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— Danica Patrick (@DanicaPatrick) May 1, 2022
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She appeared in GoDaddy’s most-watched Super Bowl commercial in 2009, followed by fourteen other Super Bowl commercials.
People magazine named her one of the most beautiful people in the world, and she has appeared on the covers of ESPN: The Magazine, Sports Illustrated, FHM, and TV Guide.
She joined The Players’ Tribune as a featured writer in 2014. She was attracted to founder Derek Jeter’s concept of allowing athletes to write and control their content.
The former racer promotes health-conscious lifestyles and partnered with Williams Sonoma to campaign for No Kid Hungry.
She has amassed a decent fortune from her wine brand, Somnium, which means “dream” in Latin. The brand is located on 24 acres in St Helena, California.
Danica has also generated earnings from her athleisure collection, Warrior by Danica Patrick, which was created in partnership with G-III Apparel Group.
She has personally designed and launched a home scent collection, Voyant.
Nonetheless, she is a spokeswoman for DRIVE4COPD, an awareness campaign for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Additional Information
- Danica Patrick, the daughter of working-class parents Terry Joseph “T. J.” and Beverly Ann, was born on March 25, 1982, in Beloit, Wisconsin.
- Her mother kept statistics on her racing, and her father acted as her crew chief at the beginning of her racing.
- She grew up with her younger sister in Roscoe, Illinois, and is of mixed Norwegian, Irish, Native American, Italian, and French-Canadian ethnicity.
- She married Paul Edward Hospenthal in 2005, but after their divorce, she was in relationships with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Aaron Rodgers, and Carter Comstock.
