Danica Patrick BY MARISSA WIGGINTON Childhood Danica Patrick

Danica Patrick BY: MARISSA WIGGINTON

Childhood �Danica Patrick was born on March 25, 1982. She was born in Beloit, Wisconsin. �Her and her sister began racing go-karts at age 10 �She dropped out of High school so she could advance her career in England

Obstacles �When Danica first started racing she achieved moderate success but never won a race �She has also married her husband, Paul Edward in 2005 and filed a divorce in 2013 �Her friend Paul Dana was killed in a crash the morning of the Toyota Indy 300.

Career �When she went to England to pursue her career in racing she finished second at the Formula Ford Festival, that was the highest ever finished by a woman and an American. �In 2002 she signed with Rahal-Letterman Racing �She was the 4 th woman to race in the Indianapolis 500

Records/Awards � She was the first women to ever come in 4 th , beating the previous record of ninth place set by Janet Guthrie in 1978. She was also the first woman to ever lead in the Indianapolis 500 � In the Kansas Speedway in 2005, she won her first pole position and she was the second woman to ever accomplish this feat in the IRL (Indy Racing League) Indy. Car Series. � In 2008 she became the first woman to ever win an Indy. Car race � She was the first to win pole position at the NASCAR event � She was named Rookie of the year at the 2005 IRL championship � She was also named female athlete of the year 2006 � Earned Gorsline Scholarship Award

Life after athletics �She was a host on Spike TV �She has been on the cover of Sports illustrated �She has appeared on commercials and music videos �In 2006 she published her autobiography Danica: Crossing the Line

Length of Career �Danica Patrick has been racing since she dropped out of High school, which would have been in the 90’s, and she is currently still racing today.

Places she has raced �She has raced in the Indy 500 �Kansas Speedway �Formula Ford �Indy. Car race �NASCAR races �Toyota Pro/Celebrity race �(etc. )

Accomplishments � She became the first female driver in series history to finish on podium with third� � � � place at Monterrey, Mexico in 2003. She earned first career pole position at Portland to become first female driver to win a Toyota Atlantic series pole position in 2004. Finished third in Toyota Atlantic series standings driving for Rahal Letterman Racing. Voted Indy Down. Force Most Popular Driver for third consecutive season in 2007 Became first female to win a major closed-course auto race in April at Twin Ring Motegi in 2008 Finished career-high fifth in Indy. Car Series standings for Andretti Green Racing in 2009. Finished 10 th in IZOD Indy. Car Series standings for Andretti Autosport in 2010. These are just a few of many things Danica Patrick has accomplished throughout her racing career.

Portrayed by Media � Danica Patrick has accomplished a lot and broken a lot of records that other woman couldn’t, but is she a good role model? Some people didn’t like when she was on the hood of a car in her bikini and that got talked about a lot. People were used to seeing her in her leather, racing clothes. � I really liked this statement that I had found “But the root problem is not this idiot yuppie porn magazine or Danica’s desire to exploit herself: It’s the fact that to be a woman athletes in the 21 st century is to live in a world where no matter your accomplishment you are the main attraction in a carnival of sexism. ” � Candace Parker is a famous women's basketball player and she was also portrayed negatively around the same time. She had been pregnant on the cover of ESPN and people reacted negatively to that because they said she was like one of the men, and that she played like a man. � This is another statement I had found that was interesting “Welcome to the 1950 s, where women in sports must either be sexually available or ready to bear children before their skills enter the discussion. ”

Significance �Danica Patrick has been very significant throughout her entire career because she has broken a lot of records, won many awards, and is one of the best female racers anyone has seen in along time. A lot of people like Danica, but of course there are people that don’t. She has been very successful in her career and is still racing today and has become even more successful than she was before.