Danica Patrick stands out as one of the most prominent female figures in motorsport. As a first-generation racer, she developed a passion for speed at the tender age of 10 and went on to become the most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel car racing. However, her journey, unlike most, wasn’t a bed of roses.

Speaking about that, Patrick opened up about a time when she was really down in the dumps and what eventually got her out of there.

The time Danica Patrick wished to run away from reporters

Making an appearance on his podcast, Danica Patrick had a lengthy discussion regarding various aspects of her career with Kenny Wallace. During the conversation, Wallace asked how she felt having all those eyes on her during her initial days. Patrick stated that all of it made her uneasy. But later she realized that people are only curious to know more about her.

Patrick said, “In my Nationwide days… I just remember I was doing so poorly. Like… I finished like 20th, and they still wanted to talk to me after the race. And I remember like running away. Like how can you possibly want to talk to me? I just did so poorly!”

“Um and then the next week was Phoenix, and I think I had another bad day. And I realized after that one because it was also like the Home Go Daddy race, that I was like, wow I better keep my sh*t together. Because this is not helping me in any way. And I better clean the like clear the energy from the weekend before the next one. So that it just doesn’t continue to spiral in the wrong direction.”

Danica Partick has been a beacon of inspiration for women all around who want to make a name for themself in a male-dominated racing world. Let’s take a quick look at her career and see how she broke that glass ceiling.

The beautiful racing journey of a Trailblazer

Danica Patrick’s career has been a remarkable journey from Junior Formula racing to the IndyCar Series. In 2010, she made her entry into stock car racing, starting with the ARCA Racing series. She eventually made her mark as one of the most accomplished women in American open-wheel car racing. Her victory in the 2008 Indy Japan 300 stands as the sole win by a woman in an IndyCar Series race.

If we come to her NASCAR Cup Series career, driving for Stewart Haas Racing in 2013, she became the first woman to win pole at the Daytona 500.

Now that she is retired, Danica Patrick has made a seamless transition to sports broadcasting. She took on the role of an analyst for Sky Sports F1. Additionally, she lent her insights and commentary to Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) events on CBS and NASCAR Cup Series rounds for Fox.

Read More: Danica Patrick Reveals Racing’s “Reciprocal Trade-Off” That Surrounds Drivers’ Off-Track Life