Danica Patrick

 Danica Sue Patrick (/daenIk@/, born March 25, 1982) is an American former professional racing driver. She is the most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel racing. Her victory at the 2008 Indy Japan 300 is the only female winner in an IndyCar Series race. Patrick was born into a working class family in Beloit (Wisconsin) and began Karting when she was 10 years old. She took first place in her class at the World Karting Association Grand National Championship three times consecutively in the early 1990s. She dropped out of high school with parents' consent in 1998, and moved to the United Kingdom to further her career. Patrick was a participant in Formula Vauxhall before moving to the United States in 2001 because of a lack of funds. She took part in five Barber Dodge Pro Series races in 2002 with Rahal Letterman Racing. Patrick competed in the Toyota Atlantic Series the following two years. Her best performance was third place in the championship standings in 2004 when she became the first female to take a pole in the series.She began racing in the IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Racing in 2005 and took three pole positions, which was equal to Tomas's record of three poles during her rookie season. She was named the Rookie of the Year at both the 2005 Indianapolis 500 and the 2005 IndyCar Series.