“It was like a movie scene”: When Danica Patrick opened up on her final IndyCar race
Bidding farewell to a once cherished sport can stir unexpected emotions, but Danica Patrick’s goodbye to full‑time IndyCar racing left her far more emotional than she could have imagined. The American driver’s final race was marked by one of the most tragic events in motorsports history.
The Andretti Autosport driver had announced that the 2011 IZOD IndyCar World Championship at Las Vegas Motor Speedway would be her last race as a full‑time competitor. She had put every preparation in place to ensure it would be a fond finale to her American open‑wheel career. Sadly, it was not to be.
Patrick qualified in ninth place, but her final race was ultimately abandoned following a massive crash involving 15 cars on lap 12.
Reflecting on that day, Danica Patrick said via CBS News,
“It was like a movie scene that they try to make as gnarly as possible. There was debris everywhere across the track. You could smell the smoke. You could see billowing smoke on the back straight from the cars. There was a chunk of fire that we were driving around. You could see cars scattered.”
Concluding her thoughts, an emotional Patrick stated,
“You just don’t want to be in that position.”
Tragically, the crash ultimately resulted in the death of driver Dan Wheldon, who was killed when his car collided with a fence post. The Wisconsin‑born Patrick would, however, return to the IndyCar competition once more, with her final start coming at the 2018 Indianapolis 500.
When Danica Patrick announced her retirement from NASCAR
Danica Patrick was once again emotional when she bade farewell to racing in NASCAR. The 43-year-old had shifted her focus to stock car racing following her exit from the IndyCar Series.
The former Stewart-Haas Racing driver announced her impending retirement during the NASCAR Homestead-Miami Speedway weekend ahead of the Cup Series finale. Patrick revealed that the 2018 season would be her final campaign in motorsports.
Speaking to the media in a video posted by NASCAR on YouTube, the visibly emotional Danica Patrick said:
“So this will be my last season as a full-time driver. My sister told me I was supposed to get emotional. I said I wouldn’t,” Patrick said, her voice breaking.
“But anyway… I am grateful for all the opportunities. I am thankful for Dale and Kelley and Bob Parsons from GoDaddy for getting me into NASCAR. Thank you to Tony and Gene,” she added.
Patrick, overall, had a career that is envious to many to this day. She successfully etched her name in history for succeeding in a male-dominated sport. The former Andretti driver remains the only female driver to have secured pole position in a NASCAR Cup Series race, and she is also the sole female to have claimed victory in the IndyCar Series.