I’ve been interested in fashion and clothes since I was a little girl,” Danica Patrick once said. She had achieved more than most would dream of in motorsport, but there was a sense of longing and ambition that drove her. Sure, she had her Daytona 500 pole and Indy 500 third-place finish to enter the record books. That’s when she decided to come up with her ‘Warrior’. And while Patrick chose to go with athleisure when it came to producing clothes, it doesn’t mean she has lost interest in fashion, and the Indy 500 proved just that!

In this year’s edition of the race, Patrcik was in the broadcast booth at the same race where she made history decades ago! “Always a blast and an honor to help cover the Indy 500! Qualifying was exciting with a rookie on the pole for next Sunday!” she wrote on Instagram ahead of her race. Come race day, Álex Palou made history as the first Spanish driver to win the Borg-Warner Trophy, crushing it with his fifth win in six IndyCar races that season. While Palou was soaking up the victory, Danica was stealing the show off the track, flipping the script in a way nobody saw coming.

The twist came after she posted on X following the race! “Memorial Day weekend is always Indy 500 and family. Thank you to all who have sacrificed for our freedom to live the life we want,”the caption said, in a tribute to all the fallen soldiers honored over the weekend. 

Fans, however, were focused on Patrick’s dress. Wearing a striped black and white dress, Patrick impressed fans on the broadcast, and they showed their love in the comments on her post. And this isn’t the first time she’s impressed fans with her fashion sense. Go back just a few weeks to the Miami GP, where Patrick wore a white dress. “Back at it in Miami with @skysportsf1,” she wrote in her Instagram post.

It’s become a part of her identity. Just take the 2023 Burning Man festival. Patrick felt like it was the perfect place to show off her taste in fashion, and in a post captioned, “There is no better place than burning man to wear whatever you want. Everyone’s style is celebrated and part of the fun of the week,” she said it all.

The turnaround in fan sentiment is a stark contrast to the backlash Patrick faced just a week earlier during Indy 500 qualifying, where her commentary drew harsh criticism, with some fans questioning her credibility and others slamming her analysis as uninspired. But her race day presence, both in style and substance, won many

Fans Flip for Danica: “You Were the Epitome of Class at the 500”

Danica Patrick’s X post on May 27, showcasing her Indy 500 look, was a total game changer, and fans didn’t hold back their admiration. “You were the epitome of class at the 500. You’re a hero for all young girls,” one fan gushed, echoing the sentiment of many who see Patrick as a role model. Danica has always set an example for girls to enter the sport. Remember the 2005 Daytona 500? Qualifying in fourth place, she sent out a strong message to all the doubters.

The praise didn’t stop at her fashion. “If your daughter asks you which female sports role model should I look up? The answer is Danica Patrick,” one fan declared. They wouldn’t be wrong. Patrick has spoken about the difficulties and challenges she faced, and as an idol, she can inspire more girls to take up the sport. Just listen to her answer about being a woman in a male-dominated sport, and you will understand what we mean. ” I think that culturally you don’t grow up thinking, I want to be a race car driver when you’re a little girl, so you don’t try it. I think that the more and more we have people crossing over, men and women into predominantly men and women jobs, the more you’re going to see that become more and more even.”

“You were simply elegant for the race. I grew up in Indy and remember the days of the 500 in the ‘60s where it was an opportunity for women to exhibit high fashion and creativity in 500 dress. You nailed it!” one fan wrote. Well, Patrick wasn’t just wearing an outfit. She was just keeping a tradition alive. In 2012, Sandra Andretti wore a checkered flag shirt during the race. And it goes back through the decades. Earlene Cummings, daughter of Indy 500 winner ‘Wild Bill’ Cummings, wore a similar checkered dress to the race to show her support! That’s why it’s no surprise when another fan added, “Love the dress! Thought you looked stunning during the broadcast.”

From fashion icon to role model, Danica Patrick proved at the 2025 Indy 500 that she’s still a force to be reckoned with, silencing the naysayers with a look and a message that resonated far beyond the track.