Being the only woman in a male-dominated motorsport requires courage to persevere. Most importantly, it entails a huge challenge to put up with demotivating challenges daily. Danica Patrick competed in the NASCAR Cup Series for six years and washed up against people who denounced her racing skills. For instance, Kyle Petty said she was “not a race car driver.”

This pressure to perform well and keep pace with her rivals could have been overwhelming for Danica Patrick. She finished in the top ten only seven times in the Cup Series, having scored her sole victory in the 2008 Indy Japan 300. But the perfectionist craze could not catch up to her, as Patrick kept a steady mind.

Danica Patrick denounces the ‘perfect’ struggle

Back in 2013, Kyle Petty added another reason for Danica Patrick to be stressed. Being the son of NASCAR legend Richard Petty and being a driver and motorsport analyst himself, his words carried weight. Petty publicly said that Danica Patrick does better as a marketing symbol than a racer. “I don’t have a problem with her being a marketing machine. She can go fast, but she can’t race.”

Although this spurred a mixed flurry of reactions, Danica Patrick herself was undeterred. She simply said, “I really don’t care.” This immunity to perfectionist struggles has continued into her post-racing career journey. Patrick has always prioritized her mental health, admitting the wonders of having a therapist by her side.

In a recent interview with Doug Bopst, Danica Patrick talked about how the ‘perfect’ lens is a matter of perspective. “I believe that we actually can’t see ourselves, we only see ourselves in reflection to someone else, or in a relationship to someone else. So through getting triggered, feeling happy, or relating…all of this stuff is information.”

Patrick admitted that it can be difficult to put yourself in that eagle’s eye. “It’s very hard to get into that perspective when you’re emotional and in it. When you’re in it, you’re like Red Mist, freaking out, defensive, angry, whatever.”

But persistence yields a sweeter fruit. “When you’re above it…you’re able to have a much more calm perspective. So perfectionism is probably gonna be something I will always work on because I was rewarded so much for accomplishment.” Yet Patrick added a value-laden four-word verdict: “Perfect is an illusion.”

This demonstrates the depth of Danica Patrick’s thoughts. She has always upheld mental and physical well-being. The former SHR driver believed this helped in races as well.

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Patrick’s yoga routine converted to the race track

Race car drivers are usually the rule-breaker, no-cap sort. Dale Earnhardt Jr. famously admitted that mid-week parties and a whiskey-cigarette diet helped him focus in races. But exceptions exist, including health freak Jimmie Johnson and yoga practitioner Danica Patrick. What’s more, Patrick also claimed that her healthy routine aided her racetrack endeavors.

In 2017, Patrick outlined the mental benefits. “The most common (thing it helps with) is breathing and recognizing how the breath controls everything, and so if you get nervous or anxious or gripping the wheel too tight, it’s pretty automatic for me to just take deep breaths to calm down.” 

Given the high-impact wrecks that NASCAR is famous for, Danica Patrick also underlined the physical benefit. “On another level, I think that when you bend, you don’t break. So I think it’s just good for someone doing sports to have flexibility because it’s inevitable that at some point you’re going to bend pretty far.”

Although Danica Patrick left the sport early in 2018, she left a lasting legacy as a health icon and a constant inspiration to female drivers.