Although NASCAR is a predominantly male sport there have been several women drivers. Among these are Janet Guthrie (1970's), Shawna Robinson (1980's), Patty Moise (1980' and 90's) and several others. The most popular woman in NASCAR to date has been Danica Patrick.

(Side note: I’m currently sitting in the nail salon getting a pedicure and I Googled a picture of Danica Patrick to put on here and the first thing I saw was a picture of her stripping out of her fire suit with her butt hanging out. I think my nail tech thinks I’m a lesbian now. Oops 😬)

Danica drove the no.10 Chevorlet for Stewart-Haas Racing from 2012 to 2018. Her NASCAR career wasn’t exactly the best. She never won a race, wrecked out most of her races, and was the cause of quite a few wrecks. The running joke in my house is that if Danica is near your favorite driver you better hold your breath because things are about to get ugly.

Although Danica didn’t do very well in NASCAR, like she did in her IndyCar career, I would still say that she’s an inspiration to young girls and even older women. Despite her bad luck (or rather the lack of skills to drive a stock car) she still kept trying and proved that NASCAR isn’t only for men. For that I respect her.

Even though there have been a few female drivers in NASCAR before Danica, she has been the face of women in NASCAR. She rocked everybody’s world and brought a lot of “hungry eyes” to the sport, if you catch my drift. I’ve been to several races where I see little girls decked out with Danica Patrick gear saying how they want to be like her. In a way I kind of want to be the Danica Patrick of Scorum, the IndyCar Danica where she actually won a race.

She was never my favorite driver and she never even came close, but I do think she helped the sport. Do I think having her behind the wheel on the track was necessary? No. Did I feel like she opened up doors to do activities that are considered to be “guy stuff?" Not really. I would describe Danica Patrick like seasoning on fried chicken. No, you don’t need seasoning to have fried chicken, but it sure does make it more flavorful and interesting. We could’ve gone without her and we would’ve been just fine.

I feel like she added a lot of excitement to the sport and I’m glad that she graced us with her presence. I believe she had a good run and I'll miss seeing her wreck my least favorite drivers but her time in NASCAR has come to an end. I'm excited to see who the next Danica Patrick will be!

XOXO @hellsbelle 🖤

NASCAR / danica patrick

What does @hellsbelle think of Danica Patrick?

What does @hellsbelle think of Danica Patrick?

What does @hellsbelle think of Danica Patrick?