Indy Car or IRL racing has been my favorite since moving to Indianapolis in 1956. Danica Patrick has been one of my favorite Indy Car drivers since she first ran 2005. As yesterday’s race marked the end of her career as a regular Indy Car driver it seems a good time to write a few observations about her. From now on she will be racing full time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, where she has raced a partial schedule since 2009, and drive in up to 10 premier Sprint Cup races for Dale Earnhardt Jr. team.
The tragic Las Vegas Speedway Indy Car race yesterday was a somber finish for the 32 year old Danica Patrick’s illustrious Indy Car career. A horrific 15 car crash on lap 13 claimed the life of the popular 2011 Indianapolis winner Dan Wheldon. The race was never restarted.
Danica, who started 9th, was running low coming out of the second turn when, caught by her onboard camera, one of the airborne cars that was on fire sailed just to her right. She held her line and managed to leave the accident behind with no damage to her car.
“There was debris everywhere, you could smell smoke and see the billowing smoke,” she said.
In a tweet late last night she said, “There are no words for today. Myself and so many others are devastated. I pray for Suzi and the kids that god will give them strength.”
Danica came to Indy Cars and the Indianapolis Speedway in 2005. That year she was named Rookie of the Year for both the Indianapolis 500 and the Indy Car series. She finished 3rd in the 2009 500, the highest finish ever by a woman and she is the only woman to win an Indy Car race – the 2008 Japan 300. This year she had one top-five finish and nine top-ten finishes. She has driven for the successful Andretti team for five years. She has completed 50 consecutive Indy Car races, a record- the next highest total is 32. She was voted Most Popular Driver of the Indy Car series the past six years and is favored to win again this year. Her availability, straightforward manner, humor (though testy at times), good looks and advertising sense has made her popular with all ages. Her sponsorships make her one of the highest earning women athletics in the world. She is famous for her alliance with GoDaddy.com – or is it the other way around?
She will be missed on the Indy Car circuit and, I’m sure, will add excitement to NASCAR.
