I just go where my heart tells me, where my gut tells me to go, where I'm enjoying my life the most, where I feel like I can have the most success. I've truly enjoyed my experience in NASCAR, to the point that I want to do it full time.
Tribute Plan
A tribute to Danica Patrick would be a statue of her in the center of a Go Kart track I would build her in Beloit, WI. The name of my tribute is Daring Danica because I believe that she was very brave person and she was diligent during her races. I will make my tribute out of metal because it is what cars are made out of and even if the metal rusts, she will still stand tall in all of her races. The statue will also be made out of a little bit of jade because the stone is green and green is Danica's favorite color. The quote that I chose to use for my tribute is "I just go where my heart tells me, where my gut tells me to go, where I'm enjoying my life the most, where I feel like I can have the most success. I've truly enjoyed my experience in NASCAR, to the point that I want to do it full time." I chose this quote because I believe it represents her hobby and why she likes to race. |
By: Leela Sydow The first woman to lead the Indianapolis 500 and the first ever woman/American to win 2nd place in the Formula Ford festival is no other than Danica Patrick. Danica Sue Patrick was born March 25, 1982 in Beloit, Wisconsin. She grew up in Roscoe , Illinois. She had always had a passion for racing, but she was afraid of getting dirty or having grease on her fingernails when she was younger. Ever since she was young, she was inspired by speed and mechanics. She inherited it from her father, T.J., a mechanic, and her mother, Bev Patrick. When she was young, she had the same dream over and over again. Big animals with huge, sharp claws were chasing her. One night, that changed. In the dream, she was running so fast, the animals could not catch her. Danica caught on with the idea of speeding away from everyone. When Danica was 10 years old, her sister, Brooke, wanted to go kart. Danica followed along and went too. Although on her first go, her brakes failed and she smashed into a wall, Danica enjoyed it a lot. Later on, her parents decided to get Danica and her sister go karts of their own. Soon enough, Danica's sister, Brooke, outgrew her go kart. That didn't mean that Danica quit too. By the time Danica was age twelve, Danica was winning World Karting Association races and by the time she was 14, she had won 39 of the 49 WKA races that she had entered. Danica Spent so much time on the track that she got kicked out of her high school cheer leading group for missing to many practices. Then She dropped out of high school so that she could advance her racing in England. Danica was very diligent and said, "Take those chances and you can achieve greatness, whereas if you go conservative, you'll never know. I truly believe what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Even if you fail, learning and moving on is sometimes the best thing." In England, Danica joined a racing school. She was the only girl and was often left out of activities and it was hard for her to get the car she wanted. With that car, Danica Received 2nd place out of 20 racers in the Formula Ford Festival. That is the highest any American or woman had ever placed in that race. This caught the eye of a racing team owner Bob Rahal. Later on, she joined his racing team. Even though Danica was a very skilled racer herself, she still needed a little more practice and hard work in order to be able to accomplish her big lifetime goal. To win the Indianapolis 500. So in 2002, Danica went to the race as a spectator to learn from other racers. Then, Danica decided to try it herself. I 2005, Danica became the fourth woman ever to race in the Indianapolis 500. Daica became the first woman to ever lead the race. Danica finished with a fourth place prize. Danica became rookie of the year.She was the first woman to ever get that far. Danica got married to her therapist, Paul Hospenthal after she got hurt doing yoga in 2005. They currently are divorced and Danica currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona. sources: http://biography.com/ http://ic.galegroup.com/ |