Know Your Driver: Danica Patrick

Danica Patrick

Name: Danica Patrick

            Nickname: N/A

Date of Birth: March 25, 1982 (age 33)

Hometown: Roscoe, Illinois (born in Beloit, Wisconsin)

Family: driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr., boyfriend

First Career Start: February 27, 2012 (Daytona)

Car Number and Make: #10 Chevrolet SS

Primary Sponsors:

• GoDaddy.com
• Aspen Dental
• TaxACT

Team: Stewart Haas Racing

           

Teammates: Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch

Best Career Points Finish: 27th (2013)

Career Victories: 0

           

Notable Wins: N/A

Description: A lot of people love her. A lot of people despise her. And a lot of people could care less. This is the reality for Danica Patrick amongst NASCAR fans.

After a fairly successful career in the IndyCar Series, where she became the first female to win a race in that series, Patrick switched her focus to NASCAR in 2012. Supported by a former IndyCar racer in Tony Stewart, Patrick was brought on to his team, a team that had just won the championship with Stewart the prior year. (Ok, full disclosure, Patrick technically raced for Tommy Baldwin Racing in 2012, with support from Stewart's team. She became a full member of Stewart Haas in 2013).

Patrick has had the quality equipment that most drivers would envy since she moved to NASCAR. She started her first full season of 2013 in style by winning the pole for the Daytona 500, the first female to do so in NASCAR. But the results have not been what most would expect being on such a team. Patrick has managed only four career top 10 finishes since 2012, a performance that most drivers would typically be let go for.

This is where the knock on Patrick comes into play, that she only continues to have a ride because she's a pretty female who brings in sponsorship and that's it. But taking a look at her stats shows that the improvement is there, even though it may be progressing slower than most. She has improved her average starting and finishing position in every season since 2012. She scored three of her four career top 10s last season, including a career best 6th place finish at Atlanta.

Sure she may never set the NASCAR world on fire, but she's a demographic that the sport desperately craves. She will be around for a while longer at least, because of her sponsorship and the eyes she brings to NASCAR. And it wouldn't be the biggest shock in the world if she won a race at Daytona or Talladega. 

Fun Facts: Patrick has been in Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Edition, appeared in music videos for Miranda Lambert and Jay-Z, competed on the television cooking show Chopped, and has appeared in more Super Bowl commercials than anyone else, just to name a few of the things she's done.