page_title: Danica Patrick
section_title: Early life
hierarchical_section_title: Danica Patrick / Early life
caption_attribution_description: Downtown Beloit, Wisconsin, United States.
context_page_description: Danica Sue Patrick is an American former professional racing driver. She is the most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel racing—her victory in the 2008 Indy Japan 300 is the only win by a woman in an IndyCar Series race.
  Born to a working-class family in Beloit, Wisconsin, Patrick began karting at the age of ten and achieved early success by winning her class in the World Karting Association Grand National Championship three times in the mid-1990s. She dropped out of high school with her parents' permission in 1998, and moved to the United Kingdom to further her career. Patrick competed in Formula Vauxhall and Formula Ford before returning to the United States in 2001 due to a lack of funding. In 2002, she competed in five Barber Dodge Pro Series races for Rahal Letterman Racing. Patrick later raced in the Toyota Atlantic Series for the next two years. Her best effort was third in the championship standings for the 2004 season where she became the first woman to win a pole position in the series.
  She first drove in the IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Racing in 2005 and took three pole positions, equaling Tomas Scheckter's record of poles in a rookie season.
context_section_description: Patrick was born on March 25, 1982, in Beloit, Wisconsin. She is the daughter of working-class parents Beverly Ann (née Flaten) and Terry Joseph "T. J." Patrick Jr. Her parents met on a blind date at a snowmobile event in the 1970s when Flaten was a mechanic for a friend's snowmobile. Patrick Jr. raced snowmobiles, motocross, and midget cars. They have owned a Java Hut and a plate glass company. Danica has a younger sister, Brooke, a pediatric physical therapist. She is of half Norwegian descent, along with Irish, French-Canadian, Italian, and Native American ancestry. She was raised in Roscoe, Illinois, and had no initial interest in racing; Patrick thought of a career as either a secretary, a singer or a veterinarian. She was a cheerleader at Hononegah Community High School in nearby Rockton in 1996. She spent her off-time babysitting for a nearby family when she was not racing. When the girls were ten and eight respectively, their parents sought a hobby that would bring the family closer together. They saved money to purchase a pontoon boat, but its owner did not respond to their offer. The sisters told their parents of their wish to race go-karts after a friend of Brooke's allowed her to drive one; they were both given a go-kart.
  Patrick began karting at Sugar River Raceway in Brodhead, Wisconsin. Her father acted as her crew chief and her mother kept statistics on her racing. Patrick had no role models or idols; she was never "striving to achieve female goals," but aspired to "be the best [she] could be." In her debut race, she crashed into a concrete wall at 25 mph (40 km/h) due to a brake failure. She was not injured. Patrick improved to finish second out of twenty drivers at the year's end after a twenty-two race schedule. She gradually improved her eye to foot coordination, allowing her to set numerous age track records at Sugar River Raceway and Michiana Raceway Park. At age 13, Patrick asked her parents about moving to California so she could compete throughout the year; they declined, citing business commitments. Nevertheless, she ventured across much of the Midwestern United States, and the rest of the country, to enable her to race. To help defray travel expenses, the family sold merchandise featuring Patrick and imposed a rule that prevented her from undertaking activities that would harm her public image.
  She won ten regional karting titles, and the World Karting Association Grand National Championship in the Yamaha Sportsman, and later HPV class three times: in 1994, 1996 and 1997. Patrick was accepted into the Indianapolis-based Lyn St. James Foundation Driver Development Program in 1996. She was taught auto racing's business ventures, and her driving abilities were further refined. Her father often contacted newspapers weekly to chronicle his daughter's performance. Additionally, ABC and MTV ran television segments on Patrick in 1997. This exposure led to her being hired by John Mecom Jr. (introduced to Patrick by St. James two years earlier) to compete in the United Kingdom racing circuit. Patrick and her father visited Mecom's family, who agreed to sponsor her on the condition she was sent to a high-quality driving school for further refinement of her racing abilities. She ended up attending three driving schools, including Track Speed School at Sebring International Raceway and the Formula Ford driving school. Patrick later competed in a Sports Car Club of America race at Daytona International Speedway in May 1998.
caption: Beloit, Wisconsin, where Patrick was born in 1982.
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