Danica

Danica Sue Patrick, an American former professional racing driver. She has been the most successful female ever to compete in American open-wheel car racing--her victory at the 2008 Indy Japan 300 is the only woman to win in an IndyCar Series race.Born to a working-class family from Beloit, Wisconsin, Patrick started karting when she was of 10 and gained early success when she won her class in the World Karting Association Grand National Championship three times during the late 1990s. In 1998, she dropped out of high school and relocated to England to pursue her career. Patrick was a participant in Formula Vauxhall and Formula Ford before returning to the United States in 2001 due to the lack of funds. In 2002, she competed in five Barber Dodge Pro Series races for Rahal Letterman Racing. Patrick was later a part of the Toyota Atlantic Series for the following two seasons. Her best performance was when she finished third in championship standings during the 2004 season, where she became the first female to earn a pole position in the series.She began racing in the IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Racing in 2005. She took three pole positions, which was equal to Tomas's record of poles in a rookie season. She was the IndyCar Series rookie of the year for 2005 and she won the Indianapolis 500. She improved throughout the following two seasons, racing with Rahal Letterman Racing 2006, and then Andretti Green Racing 2007. Patrick was sixth in the driver's standings after winning in Japan. The following year, she improved upon this and finished fifth overall in the drivers' standings. She also placed in a career-high third place at Indianapolis 500, which was the most impressive performance by a female driver in the race. Patrick's overall performances slowed during 2010but she was able to finish second at oval tracks before stepping away from IndyCar following the 2011 season, focusing on stock car racing full-time.