Danica

Danica Sue Patrick is an American former professional racer. She has been the most successful woman ever to compete in American open-wheel racing. Her victory in the 2008 Indy Japan 300 is the only win by a woman in the history of an IndyCar Series race.Born to a working class family in Beloit, Wisconsin, Patrick started karting when she was of ten . She achieved her first success after winning her class at the World Karting Association Grand National Championship three times during 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 then raced in the Toyota Atlantic Series for the two years that followed. She placed third in the championship standings for the 2004 season. In the process, she became first woman to win a position in the series. She was the IndyCar Series rookie of the year in 2005, and she also took home the Indianapolis 500. She continued to grow by joining Rahal Letterman Racing (2006) as well as Andretti Green Racing (2007). Patrick was sixth in the drivers' standings after her victory in Japan. She improved on this to secure fifth next season, which saw her finish a career-high third in the Indianapolis 500, the best race of any woman at the race. Patrick's overall performance dipped during 2010, but she managed to place second on the oval track. After that, she left IndyCar in 2011 to focus on stock car racing full-time.