Most NASCAR drivers will tell you racing is in their blood and they knew it was the only path for them from the time they could walk. For Danica Patrick, that apparently was not the case.
During a recent interview with Inc’s “Behind the Brand,” Patrick made a funny revelation about when she first knew she wanted to race. It wasn’t until after she aspired to be a secretary, a veterinarian and a singer.
“The first thing I wanted to be was a secretary, then I wanted to be a veterinarian, then I wanted to be a singer, then I wanted to be a race car driver,” Patrick said. “At 10 years old I started racing, and that’s when I thought, ‘I want to be a race car driver when I grow up.'”
Patrick came from a racing family. She said her father raced on several different circuits from the time he was a teenager until he and Patrick’s mother had Danica’s sister, so he was supportive of her pursuing a career in racing.
Patrick broke down several barriers for women in the racing world. She became the first woman to win on the IndyCar circuit and later the first woman to win the pole position at NASCAR’s Daytona 500. The fact that she wanted to be a secretary when she was a kid is pretty great.
We learned recently with the new sport she conquered on the water that Patrick can do pretty much anything she sets her mind to. She made a good choice settling on racing.
