There is a reason why Danica Patrick’s name is uttered in the same breath as that of some of the most renowned motorsports athletes in the world. She set a golden standard for women in auto racing and furthered the concept of gender balance. Though the world came to see her potential only much later, her father identified it when she was just a 10-year-old racing go-kart.
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T.J. Patrick, Danica’s father, tells Kenny Wallace in a recent interview, “Halfway through the first season of go-karting I looked at my wife and I said, ‘She’s going to change racing.’ I have been racing my whole life and we were racing go-karts against… She was 10. Everybody else 12, 13. And by midseason, she was winning every race.”
The ease with which she had been able to find the victory lane led her father to teach her to tune carburetors. Understanding the technicalities of car racing significantly changed the way she raced, he believes. He added how she had a never-lose attitude even as a teenager. She had even refused to accept a second-place trophy in one of the mid-season races in her maiden go-kart year.
These traits are what led Danica to have a successful professional career in the big leagues. She won one IndyCar Series race and secured one pole position in a NASCAR Cup Series race. Both these achievements were the first time a woman did them. She also holds the record for the highest finish by a woman in the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500.
‘She’s never had an easy pass in her life’
Regardless of what opinion one might have of her performance on the track, it ought to be acknowledged that she created a much-needed opening for women in racing. To do so in a sport like auto racing isn’t an easy task and for that, she will always be respected. Her father underlined how one cannot get to her level by being average or by having lesser talent than the male counterparts.
The “@Kenny_Wallace Conversation” with @TJPatrick4 is up now on YouTube & podcast!
What’s it like being @DanicaPatrick‘s Dad?
Here’s a great clip! pic.twitter.com/gaqeoM4bP8
— The Kenny Wallace Show (@KWallaceShow) July 23, 2024
“You know, she’s never had an easy pass in her life,” he said. “Nobody’s let her by. Everybody that races with Danica races harder than they do any other guy. And if you don’t believe it, ask any of the other girls. And she never complained about it. She knew it. She told me, ‘Dad, I get it.” Danica’s racing career is behind her now. But the light of hope that she lit continues to live on.
