page_title: Danica Patrick
section_title: 2005–2007 (Rahal Letterman Racing and Andretti Green Racing)
hierarchical_section_title: Danica Patrick / IndyCar Series career / 2005–2007 (Rahal Letterman Racing and Andretti Green Racing)
caption_attribution_description: English: IndyCar Open Test Series at the Barber Motorsports park in Birmingham Alabama.
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: In December 2004, Rahal Letterman Racing named Patrick to their IndyCar Series roster for 2005 after the team found the resources to run a third car. She debuted at the season-opening race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, starting ninth and sustaining a crash which led to her being hospitalized for a mild concussion. In the season's fourth race, the Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi, Patrick started second and led 32 laps before settling for her best finish of the season, fourth. After setting the fastest overall practice speed at the Indianapolis 500, she started fourth and missed out on winning the race as she was required to conserve fuel. She came fourth after leading 19 laps and achieved multiple firsts for women at the track. Patrick took her first career pole position at the season's eighth race at Kansas Speedway, becoming the second woman in IndyCar Series history to achieve the feat after Sarah Fisher in 2002. She took two more pole positions at Kentucky Speedway and Chicagoland Speedway to match Tomas Scheckter's record for the most pole positions in a rookie season. Patrick ended 2005 with an 18th-place finish at California Speedway after a clash with Jaques Lazier, finishing her rookie season with 325 points (12th in the points' standings) and seven top-ten finishes. She was named Rookie of the Year for both the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar Series.
  Patrick returned to Rahal Letterman Racing for the 2006 season. In January, she made her endurance racing debut at the 24 Hours of Daytona, co-driving a Howard-Boss Motorsports Daytona Prototype-class Pontiac Crawford shared by Rusty Wallace, Allan McNish and Jan Lammers. The quartet was in contention for the victory, but retired from overheating problems. Although she qualified third for the season-opening Toyota Indy 300, her team withdrew after teammate Paul Dana was killed in a practice session accident on the day of the race. Thus, Patrick's 2006 IndyCar campaign began at the first road course round of the season, the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, where she finished sixth; she came eighth at the Indy Japan 300 at Motegi. At the Indianapolis 500, Patrick finished eighth after starting tenth. The rest of her season was modest with four top-tens, which included a season-high placing of consecutive fourth-position finishes: first at the Firestone Indy 200 at Nashville Speedway, and then the ABC Supply Company A.J. Foyt 225 at Milwaukee Mile. Patrick came ninth in the final standings with 302 points. In November, the March of Dimes awarded her the title of Sportswoman of the Year in celebration of her dedication and success.
  Before the 2007 season, Patrick moved to Andretti Green Racing, in place of Bryan Herta in its No. 7 Dallara-IR05 Honda. She opened her season with two top-ten finishes in the first four races (eighth at St. Petersburg and seventh at Kansas). Patrick started the Indianapolis 500 in eighth position. She raced competitively with the leaders, and finished in the same position she started, when the race was halted by rain after 166 laps. Patrick clinched her second consecutive eighth-place finish at the ABC Supply Company A.J. Foyt 225 which was overshadowed by a physical confrontation with Dan Wheldon; the two reconciled after a private meeting with IndyCar president Brian Barnhart. She took her then best career finish with a third at the Bombardier Learjet 550, and improved on this result by clinching second at the season's penultimate race, the Detroit Indy Grand Prix at Belle Isle Street Circuit. Patrick closed off the year by coming eleventh at the season-closing Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway, to place seventh in the drivers' standings with 424 points and eleven top-ten finishes.
caption: Patrick at a post-season test session at Barber Motorsports Park in October 2007
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