This week on the In Depth Podcast, Danica Patrick the
racing icons passion started at a young age and made her a
champion. One day you're just going to be
doing the same thing that you've been always doing and you just
win. And it just worked out and I
won. As one of the few women in
Motorsports, Patrick gained incredible fame faced judgement
throughout her career. I tried to not stand out as a
girl, like I don't want to be describing what the cars doing
and have them be so distracted by something that's feminine.
And fought to become the greatest female driver in
IndyCar history. She later made the jump to stock
car racing, but by 2017 her professional and personal life
was in disarray. Leaving a relationship, letting
go of my job and doing something else, there's a lot going on.
IN2018I visited Patrick at her vineyard in Napa Valley, where
she opened up about her decision to retire the relationship that
divided her family. I look back and I'm like I was
manipulated. And the politics of NASCAR
sponsorship. You know, they had to be
motivated to go find me sponsors and you know, motivation varied.
But we began with some of Patrick's earliest memories
behind the wheel. Explain how your sister Brooke
was at least partly responsible for getting you into a.
Totally responsible. Yeah.
Well, when we were kids, my dad's always been involved in
racing. And we used to go to the dirt
track on Sunday night. My dad would work on a car, and
we were too young to get in the pits.
So we would get like mom, Dad would give us 20 bucks and we'd
sit in the stands and we would go and kill the concession
stands and get, you know, like the rainbow snow cones and like
licorice like that was 3 feet long and whatever other candy
I'm sure we could find. And and so we'd watch dirt
racing on Sunday, Sunday nights. And my sister wanted to start
racing and she wanted to be the number that my dad worked on 65.
So I think she just wanted a number was number 65 on
something. But like it could be that simple
when we're kids, couldn't it be? So anyway, and there was a
friend of hers that was in her class that raced go karts.
So they ironically enough, lived in our neighborhood.
So we went down ironic. I mean, I grew up in a town of
5000, so I guess it's not that ironic.
Rosco. Illinois, yeah.
I always say Chicago. And then they're like, oh, I
know Chicago. I'm like, OK, do you know
Rockford? And they're like, Oh yeah, I'm
like, do you know rotten? No, I don't know Roscoe.
And so we went and looked at the go karts and went to some races
and and started. And so she wanted to do it.
And I feel like just in like the normal sibling sort of way.
I didn't want to get left out. I'm sure there's things that
went the other way too, but I was like, all right, I'll do it
too. And she ends up eventually
losing interest. Your interest only progresses.
All of a sudden, you're having baseball cards made with your
picture on it. You know, T-shirts with your
picture. What did the family weekend
routine eventually become? It became leaving on Friday
after school to go to the go Kart, to to leaving on Friday
morning, to leaving on Thursday night, to leaving on Thursday
morning. And I say that, but then usually
mom and dad would get home from work because they still worked
full time. And we would get in trouble
because we didn't have the coolers packed.
We were never ready. And we'd load the trailer up
and, and head on out and we'd go.
We'd drive anywhere from locally at the very beginning for the
first year. So that was only, you know,
30-40 minutes away to it went so far as probably as far as us
driving 20 hours. I mean, we go to Canada,
Florida, North Carolina, and then I raced out West.
But we, we, we would get someone like my dad had someone at work
that would drive the trailer out there and we'd, we'd fly.
But but yeah, I mean, Phoenix, California.
So we kind of raced all over the place.
But my mom and dad would, you know, my dad especially would
just pound some candy and Mountain Dew and drive from the
time that we were done on Sunday afternoon or evening at the
track all the way home and go to work in the morning.
And you were involved in a bunch of different sports growing up.
Volleyball, basketball, baseball.
You were cheerleader. Started with T-ball, Wait, coach
pitch, then T-ball. Right?
It was a T-ball, then coach pitch and then it was track and
I did band, choir, basketball, volleyball, cheerleading,
tumbling. I took tumbling.
What was it about racing then that you know, even that early
on made you know that's what you wanted to admit, all the other
stuff you were involved in? You know, I, I loved setting
goals and accomplishing them. I loved the process of getting
faster over the weekend. I loved the mental discipline.
I mean, you know, working with my dad on these things like, but
you know, I would execute and I would even, I would think of
little tricks too to do out there.
Like I would reach my hand down, like I was going to tune the
carburetor to go faster a lot of times out in the lead and I'd do
that and I wouldn't actually do anything.
It was just to make them think I was doing something so that and
then they would do it and they would start going slower because
I knew it wasn't time. Yeah, like nothing too hot and
then we don't need to richen it up yet.
But I would trick them like I would play little games.
And I mean, I did that into my IndyCar days.
I mean, I remember watch, I remember racing at Milwaukee,
which is a short little flat one mile track and I would come down
the front straightaway and I would dart out like I had like a
really big run and sure enough they'd leave a lane for me and
I'd pass them. Tell me about the public
speaking course, the 12 week long course she took the Dale.
Carnegie speaking course. That was awful.
I was 14. I think I was 14 years old and.
Basically dragged to do it. My mom had to drive me there.
The average age in there I brought down by a decade.
I'm sure because everybody's like a professional.
They're at least 30 some years old in the class, 4050 years old
and they're learning like negotiate, like techniques to
how to do Better Business. And like there was a whole
segment on remembering names, which I clearly didn't pay
attention in because I'm horrible at that.
But but that was painful. One of my sponsors paid for it.
They, they said, Hey, we'll, we'll pay for you to go to a, to
go to a speaking course. And I guess, you know, all these
things are just really interesting because somebody saw
something in me they're not going to, you're not going to
send someone to a speaking course to learn how to like, do
something that's going to be important later in life if you
don't think somebody's got it right.
So, you know, they saw something and they wanted to make sure
that I was prepared, so they paid for it and I had to go.
And I think it was like you could only miss 2 of 14 classes.
So I remember bawling a couple times before I had to go.
It seems a pivotal moment and really your life was England.
Not only like what been there, but how you ended up getting
through and overcoming it. You're at the Brickyard in high
school. Lynn St.
James introduces you to an heir to a prominent Texas oil family.
What does he say that pretty much convinced you this is what
you had to do in going to England?
Yeah, this, this British guy who worked for this family, this
really wealthy family said you could learn more in one year in
England than five years here. And I was like, well, that sure
sounds like something I need to do then, you know, like I'm
probably going to say that while I was drinking my Kitty cocktail
at the at the bar because I think we were sitting at a bar
inside the suite. And but I just remember
thinking, well, that's what I need to do.
And so from that point on, I go racing and win more and do
really well. And two years later, when I was
16 years old, they contacted us again.
It was during during the Indy 500 month of May time.
And they said we've been following your career for the
last two years. We'd really like to talk to you.
And so we have this joke like there's stuff that you do and
don't want to do, but I always end up doing the right thing.
And I remember I didn't want to go and even my dad didn't really
want to go. It's a four hour drive from
where we live down to Indy and it was raining out and it was
just for the meeting and it was like, do we really need to go?
Is it really? Well, we ended up going and then
sure enough, they're like we want to take you to England.
And so I went that summer and tested a car and then went back
at the end of the year for the winter series race and then
moved back the next year and called out of high school when I
was 16 in the middle of my junior year.
And at that point in time I went, I want to be a race car
driver. And then I was like, OK, I got
to make this work because I just loved high.
School, and I mean credit to your parents for like, believing
in you enough and letting you go as just a high school kid moving
alone. Go back and think of the
likelihood of me making it. The likelihood of any athlete
making it all the way to the top is just it's so slim.
I mean, it just is. And so for them to go, yeah,
sure, get your D GED Danica, like, just go try this.
And then hopefully it all works out.
Like, that's a bold move. I know my mom was really sad.
Like, my mom cried, from what I understand pretty regularly of
me being gone. But what they said was they were
like, well, it would be worse if you didn't have the opportunity.
Yeah, I mean, it seemed like, you know, your parents were
doing the best they could to, you know, see you a lot.
They think between both of your parents and your sister, each
one separately, individually, would go twice a year to visit
you in London. But you move, or I'm sorry, you
move 45 minutes outside of London.
Yeah, I was going to say that would have been really cool if I
was like actually in London, but I was outside in a little town
that called Milton Keynes that for two of the three years, one
other year, I lived even further in the middle of nowhere.
But yeah, it was definitely not London, but.
How old do you remember what the owner said out there after you
finished? Better than your teammates one
time. Yeah, well, we were at
Donington, which is a track in England, and we were testing and
it was, I think it was kind of raining on and off that day.
And I remember sitting on pit lane, there was some chairs and
one of the cars pulled in and asked who was fastest.
And like, the owner stuck his head in the window and is like
the freaking girls fastest. What are you doing?
Like as in it shouldn't be that way.
And that's always been the biggest struggle is getting
people to really believe in me, believe in what I believe I can
do. And it's fine.
I've had people people believe that, yes.
But it takes a lot more than just one person on a team to
believe that the whole like you're only as strong as your
weakest link. If the collective doesn't
believe in it or most all, then you're not going to get what you
need. And.
How did that affect you then? I just remember feeling
disappointed, disappointed that I wasn't acknowledged for what I
was doing. Didn't like your host family
either. What do you remember saying when
the husband asks you to go fetch something for him one time?
Like if anyone ever said told me to go fetch something I just I'd
go fetch it and forget to bring it back and just keep walking
out. I mean, I'm sure it's maybe a
little bit of like different dial dial, like the words that
you use in different countries. Maybe.
I don't know, That's me being as nice as possible.
But yeah, he she was, you know, she took care of the kids and
had dinner on the table and it was like a plethora of bowls of
salads and meats and vegetables and just like the whole thing.
And he'd be like, oh, Mitch, go fetch me a beer.
Like that's what he said. The same guy that said the girls
quickest. What are you doing So?
Partied a little, partied a little too much, You're
confronted by your parents. I didn't party too much.
Party the appropriate. No, you know what I did?
I, I was going out like I'm a teenager, but I wasn't it.
I wasn't worse than it. I mean, I was, I went out less
than everybody else, but it doesn't matter.
People are always looking for a reason.
You know, I think when you stand out and you're different, people
are looking for a reason. And but yes, I was.
It was too having too much fun. What do you say when your
parents confront you about it with the sponsor pulls out and
your parents confront you? Well, I came home from the
season and the winter and I remember being sat down and I
think that my managers were saying they weren't going to
keep going with me. And so this was after year one
and of the three years that I was there eventually and they
said that I was going out too much and partying and not
serious and not taking it, taking it seriously.
And so, yeah, I just kind of like broke down and ended up, I
got a job. I worked at the limited 2T OO
for a while. I didn't do very well at that.
I didn't do very well at all. No, no, that's not my that's not
my jam. I remember I had worked there
for like 2 days and somebody wanted a certain lotion or
something like, OK, go find it. And they're like, I came and
asked you because I thought you'd know where it was.
And like the old here's the problem.
My route is like so much worse than your route.
You'll never remember the first route.
So, so that's all I'm going to say about that.
And then the next time there's someone checking out and they
like, we sold garbage cans I guess.
And there was a little garbage can and they're like, do you
have a box for this? And I was like, I'm sorry,
ma'am, you know, I've checked. No, we don't have a box.
Well, if you sell it, you, I have a box for it.
So of course I snip back and I'm like, well, given the fact that
it's the only thing this size in the right in the whole place and
I get it's probably why we don't have a box for it.
Like I got written up twice in like a month.
Anyway, it wasn't really for me, but I got a job and then when I
went back, that's when I lived with the family, like on
lockdown. How did you convince the sponsor
to stay with you? Just that I would change and
move and do do things differently and yeah, commit all
the way and try it again. So Bobby Ray Hall, who was
obviously impressed, appropriately so, by the lengths
to which you went to advance your career, says you know you
came back from England with your tail between your legs, a shadow
your former self. In what ways?
I I went over like super raw, open, friendly, trusting and was
and not treated well, not respected as a friend even let
alone a driver and just really learned that being open didn't
get me anywhere other than being taken advantage of and feeling.
Why do you feel that way? Well, because I was never making
real friends. Like when I let, when I left,
nobody ever called me ever. I mean, I spent three years
there and saw certain people a lot.
And, you know, there was never like a, hey, how's it going, You
know, three years and so never had real friends and simple
things like I'd be going back to the States for a week or two and
I wouldn't want to leave my car at Heathrow.
And I could never find a friend that would be willing to drop me
off at the airport. Like simple stuff like that
where you just knew you didn't have real friends and so.
Which at the times like. 17/18/19 years old like you just
want a friend and so very one sided and and so I just feel
like I was taught to not trust and generally not have a lot of
faith in people. This is a Ray hall when you were
in Europe. And turn the emotions off too.
I think I forgot that like just turn the emotion off.
It was just all so bad and I was so miserable.
Like just turn emotions off. So they described me as being
very cold when I came back. Right, how do you but how do you
turn the emotions off you just let's I mean you just able to.
Yeah, it wasn't like I was one of those people that like did
something to like not feel right, like people will do drugs
or you know, like I was not. I didn't.
I just, I have it. I mean, I just stopped.
Maybe stop being so conversational.
Like I just didn't go so far as to even find emotion.
June 2002, Milwaukee, You and I think your dad were there to
like, watch the race, networking.
What did you ask Ray Hall yet again, and how did he respond
differently? Well, this was another one of
those examples of not really wanting to go to the track but
always doing the right thing. So dad did, Dad said, you know,
like we should go up to Milwaukee and end of the track
and go walk around and see how it's going and, you know, see if
I can find some, find a ride for me.
And and we had done that a lot and I just was over it.
I was like, that is not doing any good.
Like it's just, it's miserable. Nothing.
No one ever wants to do anything.
I don't want to go. And he's like, let's just go for
an hour. And just before this had
happened, I had a random phone call with somebody saying, Hey,
I have a potential primary sponsor for you to race
Atlantic's. If you have a letter of intent
from Bobby Rahal to say that you're going to like, he's going
to have a team and you'll race for him.
And so anyway, go to the track there for less than 45 minutes
in the hospitality area for for Bobby's team.
And he comes walking in and I'm just getting it.
I'm getting it done. And so I walk over and I'm like,
hey, I've heard we can have a full primary sponsor if there's
a, if there's a letter of intent that says that we're going to
have we're I'm going to race for you.
And he just said, OK. And then later on, this is in
recent time, I find out like everybody afterwards is like,
what are you doing? And he was like, what am I
doing? But two weeks later, we went out
to Laguna Seca and had a press conference and signed a letter
of intent. It was the first time I'd ever
seen the Pacific Ocean, which is very fun and went out and and
beautiful in that beautiful area of the of California and signed
the letter of intent and sure enough started the team and.
If not for that, how do you think your career trajectory
would have been different? I don't know because I mean at
that point in time, at that point in time, and let's see, in
2001, I raced about 5 races in the Formula Ford series in
England at the beginning of the year, came home, didn't race the
rest of the year. At the end of 2001, I got a ride
to drive sports cars back in America and then the team didn't
end up racing the next year because of certain technical
reasons, so I didn't actually race.
And then at the end of that, then that year, 2002, after
Bobby said he'd sign me, we we'd raced 5 Barbara Dodge Pro Series
races to kind of familiar, familiarize myself with some
tracks. And then we started racing
Atlantics in 2003. And then Fast forward to 2004,
all of a sudden in May of 2004, after racing for him for a year
and a half, he announces that media day at the Indy 500 where
I was not racing at, that I was going to raise the Indy 500 the
next year. And I was like what?
Like it just came out of nowhere.
So I have no idea where I would be, which is why I'm so
grateful, Which is why when he needs something, you know, I
want to be a friend and help and I'm grateful.
When Bobby Ray Hall approached you about FHM magazine, what was
your initial reaction? Yeah, that was like one of those
pivotal things for me to do something so feminine, so sexy.
I think I wore pleather, so I don't know what else you want to
call that, but but to do something like that, I was open
to it. I don't really care.
I was interested, but I was then also a little afraid, like what
people might think of me and if they would.
Dismiss me even more as a driver because I was doing those
things. But what I what I realized
afterwards is it drummed up a whole lot of attention and it
didn't take away from what I was capable of as a driver.
So. And correct me if I'm wrong, but
up to that point you were always trying to fit in and be one of
the guys in this. Was stand out as a girl, like
you try and just like, you know, not wear like nail Polish and
you know, just I mean, I'm I'm already a girl so like I don't
need to drive that home or make people.
I don't want to be describing what the cars doing and have
them be so distracted by something that's feminine and
not listen to me, basically. So, So yeah, I always found
myself kind of veering away from being like using being a girl,
using being a girl to do anything.
And then after I did that, I realized that it's part of who I
am, and it's also what can give me an advantage.
To what extent overnight did how some people that you you almost
changed in terms of all of a sudden you became like this sex
symbol. Well, you know, you do one thing
like that and it opens the door and I'm going to open the door
for me too. Like I ended up doing, you know,
a Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue then and, and various
different things. So.
Was it that quickly of a change? Yeah, I think that I just ended
up realizing the power of using all of your attributes to your
advantage. And I and I always say to people
that I never did anything that I was uncomfortable with.
So it wasn't like I I felt like, oh, I shouldn't do this or like
I felt in insecure, like like I was stepping outside of my own
personal boundaries. And that's another thing that I
felt like it gave me an opportunity to say is, is that
we're all very multi dimensional people as human beings.
We're not just like you're not just you don't just work and
interview people. You're like, oh, well, I also
like this and I like to travel or maybe I like photography,
maybe I like cooking. So, so as a female, you know, do
I like to be, do I like my job as a race car driver and to be
tough and aggressive and go do that?
Yeah, but I also like to be feminine and sexy.
And that's another part of me too.
And so why, why can't I show off all those sides of my
personality and use them to my advantage then?
So. Did you know that at the time,
or did you realize after you did the first shoot?
Oh, this is actually kind of fun.
I. Think I realized that over time
that it was fun and it was beneficial and this is an
extension of my personality and as long as I didn't do anything
that I was uncomfortable with, I was fine.
So your dad was a snowmobile racer, finished in the, you
know, top ten, met your mom at a race.
They had a variety of businesses when you were growing up.
Oil change garage, coffee shop, drywall company, commercial
glass business. What do you know about what all
the work entailed? Well, I think that's probably
why I'm very entrepreneurial based because I saw that.
I saw that growing up. Yeah, I think so.
Like I'm the kind of person that thinks, oh, I would, I love
health and fitness or something. And like, you know, a workout,
I'll just write it. Or food, like, oh, I'll just
create a product and sell it. Like I'm not, I'm always
thinking of doing it myself. Like how do I take this on
myself? How do I create the business for
myself instead of work with someone else?
Well, it's going to be tough, tough race.
We'll have that walk on our side.
We'll give it our best shot. Your dad, I think, was working
seven days a week at the time, really long hours.
Your sister Brooke was telling me the other day that she
basically doesn't have a memory of your dad that predates when
you guys were racing. And I think you guys started
racing at like 8 and 1010 years old.
That's how true is that for you too.
Definitely. He was gone before we got up in
the morning. He had a long drive to work
where he worked for a while when we were really, really young.
And then I guess based on that long drive home and mom probably
putting us to bed at 6:00 PM, we never really, we didn't see him
when we, you know, at the end of the day either.
So and then with, you know, working on the weekends and
like, we just didn't really see him.
So racing became a way of spending time together as a
family on the weekends. That's why we started.
We were going to buy a pontoon boat, but.
The. Guy didn't apparently didn't
want to sell it so or forgot or lost a number.
Either way, I feel like I owe him and I it would be so fun to
find that guy. Actually, really would be.
And buy that pontoon boat. What financial toll do you think
you're racing took on the family?
Oh yeah, my parents found a ton of money.
I mean, I get the end in England, you know, especially
when all that stuff was going down with, you know, judging my,
my activities, my extracurricular and thinking I
wasn't serious, you know, that's where my parents had to step up
and start spending their own money.
And so I know it was a lot. I know it was.
How did you see that at the time I.
Don't think when you're a kid you really get it right.
I mean, how long does it take to really like understand money?
A while, You know, I feel like, I feel like as parents you're,
you know, into the teenage years and even 20s sometimes you're
well, at least until you're on your own.
A parent's mission is always to get them, get your kid to
understand the value of a dollar.
So, you know, when I was racing from 10 to even in England at 16
to 19 years old, you know, I understand they committed, but I
was, it wasn't like we had to, it wasn't like I went home and
they had to sell their cars, sell their house or downsize or
whatever. I think that my dad just worked
that much harder. Although Brooke was saying she
basically suggested to her parents her not going on one of
the like extracurricular school trips that would cost money
because she knew things were tight and they needed it.
For yeah, my sister was big into cheerleading and so she would
take like a a trip every year that was kind of a fun trip to
go. Like we performed in like the
Brock's holiday parade in Chicago as one of them.
We went to Cancun, Mexico for one of them and performed in a
parade down there. So like every year she would go
somewhere as an All Star cheerleader and go do a fun
event. And so yeah, I'm yeah, I mean,
thanks Brock. She's always been the Super
supportive, like from the, she's always the glass half full.
She was always the +1. I don't know where she got it
from, but. The differing roles your parents
played in your career over the years would be what?
Mom is referee and she would say that there was plenty of times
we'd be driving home from a go Kart race and, you know,
everybody's crying and dad's yelling and critiquing me,
judging me on what I didn't do right.
And Mom would try and chime in and she's, I remember her like
crying being like, I'm sick of being the referee.
Brooke was always the +1. Dad was always well, I guess how
do you? I wanted to just say -1 I mean,
yes, he was, but. He was the emotional 1 like you.
Yeah, and irrational. The best way I can describe him
is that he, you know, and I did describe him this way a long,
long time ago. Is that he, he never told me I
had to do anything. It wasn't like you told me I had
to be a race car driver. Come on, you know, keep pushing.
He, he would ask me on a regular basis if I wanted to keep going.
He's like, if you want to do this, I'll help you.
He's like, if you want to quit, that's fine.
And they never let me quit in the middle.
It'd be like at the end of the season, I could have.
And no matter what I did, whether it was, you know, coach,
pitch, t-ball, basketball season, racing, finish, whatever
you've started, at least for the season.
And and I always said I want to do it.
He's like, all right, well, I'm going to help you do it.
Then I hope you do it the right way.
And so he I described him as a puller, not a pusher.
We were in the UK not too long ago taping an episode with Lewis
Hamilton. He said the hardest thing he's
ever had to do in his life was firing his dad as manager.
To what extent was it the same for you?
Oh yeah. That was horrible my both my
parents worked for me. Both my parents and they sold
the glass company so that they could come, you know, manage me,
drive my bus, do everything. I think that it's best to not
have your parents working for you.
I do, especially when the boss is a child.
I think that's a really, really tough dynamic.
Like how do you hold your parents accountable for the
little things when they're your parents?
You know, on top of that, I was pushed into certain family
dynamics based on a relationship that we're on that we're not.
OK. Like I look back and I'm like, I
was manipulated. I was, you know, you know, I was
in a relationship where I was kind of forced to choose and
push my parents out. And it was really sad.
But it was just, it was my reality then.
And so once I started understanding what I really
wanted in life and who I was, I realized I how important my
family was to me. I didn't see my family.
I didn't see my parents for five years at Christmas or
Thanksgiving. Like, I didn't see them for the
holidays for five years because I was forced to choose, because
they were taking advantage of me, because they weren't doing a
good job, because they were, you know, and didn't have my best
interests at heart. This is what your partner at.
The time was telling you. Yeah.
And so did you believe that part?
Well, I mean, when you're manipulated, of course you are
you Of course you believe bad things.
And some things are true, right? Some things are true.
But. But I, I know, like, look, I
know what they don't. Parents don't always do the
right thing, but they, they, I think they always want the best.
I don't think they always know how because they've got parents
too that screwed it up and their parents screwed it up and their
parents screwed up. Like, there's always, there's
always perfect. And so.
So yeah. Did they do some things wrong?
Like, sure. Like Mom, did you need to go buy
that computer? Where did you get that computer?
Well, I bought it. What'd you buy it with?
Well, I bought it on the business.
I'm like, did you ask? You know, I mean, that kind of
stuff is not acceptable. But, you know, like they didn't
know any different. That's how they did everything.
You know, they just, they just, they didn't know.
And so, you know, boundaries were hard with parents.
So between, you know, being pushed to choose to family, you
know, my my blood family over, you know, new relationship
family, and then the fact that their parents working for you
and that dynamic is impossible and just it's always going to
run its course. You know, it was difficult, like
that was just a super hard time. And I mean.
How did you tell them? Well, I'm sure I was, I'm sure
it was a super insensitive, manipulated coaching into
writing something down in a spiral notebook instead of just
going speak from the heart, call your parents.
Like it was freaking planned out and every word was spoken and
probably read and it's the right thing to do, but it's still
very, very uncomfortable. And there was a, you know, at
that point in time, there was definitely a lot less talking to
them and didn't see them as much.
Your sister said one of the hardest parts was just figuring
out what all of a sudden they'd be doing on race weekends,
because how strange was it to ask them not to come to race
weekends anymore when they basically seen every.
Single one of my races. Oh yeah, that was all part of
it, too. Like you can't come to the track
anymore. Like it was harsh and wasn't all
me, that's for sure. And so it was a very difficult
time. The whole dynamic of family is
all complicated because it's all emotional and it's all personal.
So and as a budding human being, you're also trying to figure
yourself out and who you are as an adult trying to deal with
adults and so and all find your new place in the world as, you
know, competent human beings, taking care of your own bills
and whatnot. So it was a super difficult
time. How did you get through it?
I mean, in the end, like when I was separated from, you know,
that person, like honestly, I called my parents and everything
was 100% normal within right away, really right away.
Like there was absolutely and it didn't even feel awkward.
And I'm a really good person at feeling and energy and you know,
I know a lot more about that hippity dippity stuff now, but
back then I could and you know, I can feel when it's awkward or
uncomfortable and tense and it never was.
As soon as I called my parents when I was on my own, they were,
it was all normal. I can't.
I mean, it's just, it's wonderful.
So your dad, I think, had been going to the Indianapolis 500
since 1974. I'm sure he's got, you know,
shirtless photos to prove it. And then all of a sudden his
daughter's racing in it. Why do you think it's still
emotional for him when he talks about it?
Because he's super emotional. I think, you know, like, you
know, I mean, I'm the same way. But a lot of times before the
Indy 500, I think he just can feel the gravity of the
situation, the perspective and, you know, would hug me before
the race and would be welled up with tears in his eyes saying
good luck. I'm like Ted Stop.
I got to keep it together. I got a job to do.
But he's just an emotional guy. And he, you know, that's the
fire in him. That's what makes him super out
of control, angry at times but also super emotional and sad but
grateful and happy at times. So that's just him.
He's just loaded with emotion. I wonder if you still feel the
same now, but you've been quoted before as saying not going for
the victory in that first 500 was the greatest regret of your
life. Why?
Well, because they're hard to come by period.
And you know, being experienced now, looking back, like I would
have rather hoped for a yellow at the very end and then and Ben
stayed in the lead then, you know, playing it safe to make
sure that I had enough fuel to finish the race.
Like much cooler to run out of fuel in the lead than it is to
just drop back at the end. I mean, it was still a great
story. But, you know, play the lucky
dog card and, you know, hope for hope for some luck where you can
win the race. So anyway, I would have just
banked on hoping I had enough or a yellow instead of just
detuning myself. And you even felt that way at
the time, even given the history of, I mean, you know, the when
the woman first qualified for the Indy 500, women weren't even
allowed in the pits or the garage or the press box.
And all of a sudden you're a hair away from, I know, winning
it. And of course this is not what I
knew then, which is why I didn't include it in the decision.
But we didn't have the right systems in place to know exactly
how much fuel was left. So I ended with enough for 2 1/2
more laps. So another, you know, that was
just the that was just like the the real information on how I
could have, you know, made it but. 26 years old.
Indeed, Japan 300 described the emotion of winning that race.
I remember earlier in the season a driver named Brian Herda
telling me he used to race for the team that I was racing for
then and had since retired. And you're just hanging out at
one of the tracks. And I remember him saying, like,
one day you're just going to be doing the same thing that you've
been always doing, and you're just win.
And I was like, OK, cool. You know, sure, OK.
And sure enough in Japan, that was what happened.
You know, you're just doing the same thing that you're always
doing. And it just worked out.
And I won. For me it was a big relief like
given the fact that I nearly won 8500 my first year, which was
race #4 of that season, I believe maybe four or five, you
know, waiting, you know, taking that many more years to get
there was was frustrating, especially I would say to look
back on 2007, which was my first full year with Within Ready
green. That season I was, I mean, like
I was top five every weekend and running really well.
And that was when Dario Franchitti was on the team and
he won the Indy 500 in 2007. And from that point on, like
team instructions were you followed Dario and you help him
win the championship. And I'm just young and I'm just
like, OK, you know, like I get it.
And you know, you do what you can.
Like you can win if you have a chance, but it's like sometimes
to win you have to pass him. So like I remember looking at
that year and thinking how many did, how many opportunities did
I throw away because I was doing what I was told kind of.
And I'm sure could be argued like you could have gone to win
if you like, you can go try and win if you want.
But it's like I remember that being the feeling that you're of
not feeling like I, I was supported in that decision.
So, you know, in 2008 came when I finally won.
It was like finally, you know, like, look, I've been there the
whole time. Haley Moore was telling me how
you guys were passing the Oh yeah, warm sake around.
The green scarf and yeah, we airport normally afterwards.
Like, I think I probably argued for probably 10 seconds about
like, no, I want to stay and go out in Japan and go out in Tokyo
in the Roppongi district and like, have a good time and
celebrate the win. They're like, no, you have to go
back to LA, You're going to the Champ car race in Long Beach,
then we're going to go to New York and do media.
And it was just like, whatever. You guys were cut off on the
plane. Oh, yeah.
So, but on the helicopter ride from the from the track to the
airport, Tony Kannan gave me the humongous bottle of sake.
And it was just being passed around in a circle until we
finished that. And then we got to the airport
and then got in the airplane, drank all the champagne.
Then we drank all the vodka. And I think maybe, maybe, I
don't know if we drank all the. I think we drank all the vodka.
Yeah, but we definitely ran out of maybe like cranberry juice or
pineapple. And then, I mean, we just
crushed it. And so Scott Dixon was on the
flight. And then sitting right behind me
was Dan Weldon. And so like, we just, we just
partied hard. And it was, I don't, I think we
went to Waffle House maybe when we got in.
And then I remember having and it was like late at night and I
remember having to get up at like 2:45 in the morning for
hair and makeup to make East Coast Morning News the next day
and then go to the track to the race for the Champ car race and
then head to New York right afterwards.
Like, thank God I was young and didn't get hungover so easily.
Nowadays I'd be like, you know, I'd be in like.
Please, you're still. I'd be getting an IV and you
know, definitely eating Zofran to make sure that I could
function. How would you explain the
difference between NASCAR and IndyCar?
Well, there's different parts of it.
I mean, people wise. When I went to NASCAR, I
remember feeling like, so I lived in England, then I came
back to America. IndyCar felt so American.
And then when I left IndyCar and went to NASCAR, I was like, Oh
my God, NASCAR is so American. There's so many foreign and
European people in in IndyCar. So it's, you know,
international, I guess you could say felt much more international
IndyCar. And there's definitely a lot of
posing. I always felt like in an
IndyCar, everybody was like, you know, who could go to the hall
or earlier to show they were more committed.
Who is people would like not have a drink the entire season
because it was the season, you know, And then you go to NASCAR
and it's like, whatever. And like, you know, people are
rolling in on helicopters an hour before practice starts and,
you know, out like crushing beers the night before.
Like, I mean, it's just like, OK, I'm an exaggerated a little
bit, but maybe some people crushed beers.
I don't know. But definitely like so much more
friendly, like loosey goosey, like have fun, you know, be
friendly, So friendly, I would say, and less posing, less maybe
faking it, you know, fronting. And then yeah, I mean, the
racing was, you know, racing was different because it went from
not being able to touch each other on track to being able to
bump. So you know, that's just the
difference between the body work in the car.
The steepest part of the learning curve for you from
IndyCar to NASCAR would be what? And if you had to do it over
again, would you make the same decision to make the switch?
I mean, I think I did what I could.
I mean, I did a whole season of Nationwide before I went to
Cups, so that was a recommendation.
I didn't really want to do that, but I did that.
I feel like I did a good job of giving it a shot.
I think what I didn't realize was just how, you know, the
whole movie Days of Thunder, there's nothing to talk about a
stock car. So true.
And, you know, the teams always make a really big difference and
you know, not just team itself, but then like the individual
cars within the teams. I think that's why you see the
drivers thinking the guys at the shop because then people working
on the cars because it's a big deal.
It makes a big difference. And so, you know, that kind of
goes back to that whole getting people to believe in me and what
I could do and putting in the amount of effort that it's going
to take to get there and how, you know, 1 believes in you.
That's just not enough. Like there's that one person
can't build the whole car, you know, do everything.
That was that was the hardest part was just that there was so
much that was out of my control. I look back and Indy cars are
much more, much more even than stock cars.
Looking back, do you think you would have preferred to stay in
I'm? Really not a regretful go to
NASCAR or try. Formula One or.
Yeah, I'm not a regretful person.
I'm not a like, I don't look back.
I think I wish I would have done it different because I'm happy
where I am now. But and everything leads to, you
know, one thing leads to the next in life.
And so yeah, I didn't go as well as I wanted, but I learned and
it was a great experience and I had fun doing it.
Some stuff wasn't fun and that's why I end up retiring.
What made 2017 the hardest year of your career?
Well, for various reasons, I mean like my primary sponsor
left and I'd never been in that scenario before and then it was
about what team to go to. But then me going like, like I'm
not going to take a step down, like I'm not going to go to a
team that doesn't wouldn't presumably give me a the same,
if not a better chance of performing and doing well.
So yeah, it was the decision about what I needed to do with
my life moving forward. And if I was going to hang on a
little longer and just sort of take a performance cut and a pay
cut and just continue to be out there because I didn't know what
else to do, or just take a leap of faith and move on.
Rick was saying when bad stuff would happen in 2017, you would
text her. What sorts of texts would you
send? Oh, man, well, you know, I had,
I had, you know, work drama, relationship drama.
Like, I mean, my whole life was shifting.
Like the biggest decisions like moving, leaving a relationship,
like quitting might like letting go of my job and doing something
else. There was just there was a lot
going on. How did you juggle everything
going on? Compartmentalize.
I think drivers are pretty good at that because we go from
smiling, taking photos and shaking hands 10 seconds before
getting in the car to drive 200 miles an hour.
So, you know, just flipping that switch of like work weekend, Oh
my God, deal with life, work weekend, deal with life.
So yeah, you just flip flop back and forth and get by.
So I was surprised when I read this.
You said sometimes you'd be disappointed in a race when you
realized you weren't even halfway through the race and
then an IndyCar, you would do these mind exercises to stop
yourself from feeling miserable. Elaborate on that.
Well, I mean NASCAR races are very long, especially ones like,
you know, the Southern 500 at Darlington.
I mean that's like a 5 hour race.
So it's, you know, you, you sometimes get a little
overwhelmed at the thought of how much you have left to do.
So, you know, there's that there are a lot longer than IndyCar
races. And I don't think any IndyCar
race went long, much longer than two hours.
I mean, in the Indy 500 is longer, but other than that, it
was pretty much two hours. I mean, the road courses were
time kept at two hours. So, so, you know, the length of
the races was somewhat sometimes overwhelming in NASCAR.
And then and then as far as mind games go, gosh, I don't really
remember what I did. I, I would think that, you know,
mind games for me probably had to do with, you know, setting,
setting goals for myself, like don't look in the rearview
mirror for three laps, you know, take a deep breath, things like
that. You know, just things to slow
down and calm down and focus. The last time you genuinely
enjoyed racing, you think would be 1.
What an interesting question. Every now and again there'd be a
run in a race where it was just like magic and I can remember
one at Richmond. So I feel like that was
something that one of them last year and I feel like I've like
passed half the field in one run.
Like it just was amazing. I don't know if they put holes
in my tires and we're like slow bleeding them, which is illegal,
or if I got a magical set of tires or if we just maybe hit
the setup. That part like everything was
just that perfect for their. I don't know, I don't know, I
don't know. But every now and again there'd
be just like some, there'd be a run where I can pass half the
field and I, I don't know, anytime I'm passing cars was
always my favorite. That was even if it came down to
the end of the race and it was just me and someone else, and it
might be for 15th place, might be for 9th place, it might be
for 5th place, it might be for 22nd place.
It doesn't matter. Wherever it was, it was just
like down to the sort of mano a mano moment at the end of the
race. If I didn't get by that person
or I didn't hold someone off, that was right on me.
It felt like I finished last no matter what.
It always felt like so demoralized advising and if you
beat them then it felt so rewarding even though it wasn't
for a win. It like was just that setting
that goal at the very end of the race.
So it was about beating someone is about passing people.
What was involved for you in getting to the mental space
where you realize I don't love racing anymore?
Actually, it happened years ago. I remember sitting in my
girlfriend's kitchen in Scottsdale and you know, we were
having a deep conversation and it was AI remember, like
breaking down and there was various things going on in my
life, like work relationship and you know, whatever.
And so I was feeling I was vulnerable and I remember just
saying out loud for the first time ever, like I don't love
racing. And I was like, Oh my God, what
I just say. And I was like, I lost it even
more. And I was like, that's true.
Like I don't I love parts of it and that's what's kept me going.
But like the actual if I had free time, go to the track and
drive around and have no like that doesn't interest me at all.
I would rather go meditate. I just like I just doesn't my I
just don't it's not doesn't sound fun to me.
Now, mind you, I'd you don't do something for 27 years and, you
know, get to the level I was at without, you know, loving it.
You just like there was parts of it that I loved the most.
So yeah, that was back. Probably feel like that was like
the end of maybe 14 or something.
It was years ago and, you know, think nothing of it.
I mean, I didn't have any intentions in stopping at all.
And then, you know, years go by and then 17 comes and, you know,
primary sponsor leaves and, and I don't want people to think
that they left because they were bought by private equity.
They stopped doing, I mean, they, they started the
sponsorship in 2000, 16. So they did a little some
advertising had big, I mean, they even talked about Super
Bowl commercials and you know, so the first half of 2016 goes
by and then they did nothing the last half of 16 and come to find
out they got bought by private equity.
And usually then at that point in time, they stop using
spending advertising dollars. And you know, that's what we
were as a race team was advertising.
So they left and, and, and then at the same time, my wine
launches, my clothing line launches my the book is, you
know, well underway and launches at the beginning of the next
year. And so I was in the midst of
doing a trial run with, with the workout program for the book at
that point in time. And so I had all these other
things going on. And so, you know, when they at
first in the beginning of 2017, I thought to myself, like, Oh
no, I'm not ready to be done. Like, and it felt good to say
that. It felt good to feel that.
And then as time went on, I just realized and the year wasn't any
good anyway. And it was like one more reason
like what maybe probably have it be like this again.
I mean, I've tried every which way possible.
I've done everything I possibly can to be successful and and run
and run, run well. And it just doesn't feel like
it's for me. And so why do I think that, you
know, it's going to change? On the sponsor front, I believe
the thought creeped into your head at some point.
Like, why can't people find money for me?
Do they want me here? Explain that.
Well, I think that, you know, I mean, a lot of times I had
brought the sponsors because they liked me and they were
there because of me. But you know, at some point in
time most drivers, they get that the team find some money.
And so, you know, you know, I think I was easy Rd. for most
teams where I brought it and it was full sponsorship.
And so, you know, they had to be motivated to go find me
sponsors. And, you know, motivation
varied. Why do you think that was?
Maybe they just want something new again.
Maybe they didn't believe in me and they wanted something new.
Maybe they just want to take the easy money.
Is like that what you believed? Sometimes, yeah, sometimes I
there was some people along the way that worked for sure.
But I think in general it was, you know, easy money.
I mean, in that and at that point in time, that's also what
happened. I mean, there was a driver with
a sponsor that came to the team and had a full sponsorship.
So that's the easy option. The role GoDaddy played in your
career would be what? I mean, they just created so
much awareness from for my name, for my brand, for what I did,
you know, we both used each other really well.
I mean, I needed this sponsor and they were a fantastic
sponsor and they needed a, you know, they needed to advertise
and, and create awareness for their brand and, and get noticed
and they did a great job of that.
So you know, all the Super Bowl commercials and then for GoDaddy
to come back at the end and sponsor me for the double for
the Daytona 500 and Indy 500 in in 18 was just really proved how
well we worked together and how effective we were for each other
and. What people might not know about
that is you actually negotiated that deal yourself, I believe.
So. What was involved with doing?
It, I mean, it really was a simple case of like, you know,
looking at how much it was going to cost to run, run for the 500
each 500 and knowing kind of that budget and knowing what I
was prepared to do these races for and knowing how much it cost
me. And, you know, just going like,
I think we need this. And so, yeah.
And, and going in and also telling them how, talking about
not telling them, but understanding what they needed
and what I needed and who we were as brands at this point in
time, because a couple years had gone by since we had been
together and realizing that we were more aligned than ever as
brands. And so it was perfect.
So 2018, you just finished the Indy 500.
NASCAR is at rainy Pocono. Where are you and set the scene.
That was after the last race and you know, here in beautiful Napa
for auction, Napa Valley, which is a gigantic charity event that
raises like, you know, 15 ish, $1,000,000 a year for Valley
Valley charities and Valley, you know, things like the fires
coming through and so supporting the valley in general.
And so, you know, coming here and it's like beautiful, you
know, it's so beautiful out sunny, drinking champagne in the
morning. And I'm like, or we could be in
Pocono. I think I'm in the right place,
you know, and I remember being very excited after the race,
after after Indy to know that the next thing I was going to do
was the next weekend, like go out and support one of these
businesses that I haven't had a chance to do that for.
And, and on top of it being, you know, like definitely not
feeling like. Work Tell about the wine cellar
at your Scottsdale home. I mean, I remember when I bought
that, that the house in Scottsdale, I needed more garage
space and a wine cellar. And so there was a house in the
neighborhood. It was the same neighborhood I
lived in at the time too, just moved up the hill and and I
remember thinking, oh, I just want to see this house.
Like it looks amazing. And it was, you know, very big
and expensive and, you know, and then falling in love with it and
all you have, all I have to do is get my heart set on something
and then it's happening. So saw the house and.
Was it for sale? Yeah, it was for sale and but
definitely not like price range. What I was thinking at that
point in time, and it was the only time in my life that I ever
was in deep enough financially was something else that I was
like I do need to keep working for another year so but other
than that. That thought, really.
Yeah, like like as in if something happened, this house
is expensive and I would need to sell some some something, you
know what I mean? Or just make sure I get through
one more year. So.
So, yeah, so I bought it for the wine cellar, but it's like a 800
or 1000 bottle wine cellar. And you know, the hard thing in,
in, in Arizona is to keep an AC unit and shipshape because it's
so effing hot out there that like the AC units, if they're
exposed to the sun, like they just wear out and they run and
run. So oh, the amount of times you
have to replace the AC units in things like a house and a wine
cellar in Arizona is high, but you got to keep your wine in
good shape. Those are first world problems.
Yeah, these are champagne problems.
Literally. What do you enjoy about wine?
Well, I love drinking it. I drank wine in England and then
coming back here, I mean, I, you know, still like wine and took a
trip here in 2006 and was just down the valley and at a place
called Quintessa and was set up by my agent at that point in
time. And you know, it was beautiful
morning and rose petals leading out to the grassy Knoll in the
middle of the property, which I found out later wasn't for me.
It was a wedding the night before.
But anyway, rose petals on the way out picnic table, beautiful
view looking S the like fog is like like clearing out and
pulling back down into San Francisco into the Bay and and
just being like it's like 10 AM and I'm drinking white wine.
It's amazing And wow, it would be so cool to have something
like this someday. And thinking to myself that like
obviously dreaming about that, and then also thinking that
maybe that would only remain a dream maybe.
And you really had that thought even then the.
First time that was literally like, I mean, it wasn't the very
first time I've been here was the first time I really
experienced Napa. Well, like private tastings and
stuff like that. Like that's the only way to go.
Like you can go to cellar doors, sure, but like you really want
the backstage pass, You want a barrel taste, you want to, you
want personal one-on-one to explain the vineyard, explain
the wine Spain, explain them, you know, varietals, how much is
produced, you know, the whole, the whole scene.
Like just understand the comp, the what you're drinking.
But I like in my mind, I thought, Oh my God, it's like
probably $50,000,000 to have a winery.
And I thought, I don't have that.
And I definitely 100% thought yet because I definitely
believed I would have $50 million someday.
And so I was like, yet. And anyway, I saw this at the
end of 2008 and 2009, bought it and started the process of, you
know, permitting and plans and erosion control meetings.
And you know, they even on every new property to plant, like they
have to go around and check and see if there's any rare
artifacts, rare plants. So that you, if you there is,
you can't plant there, you can't dig it up.
So anyway, you have to go through all those processes.
So it takes a long time. So the the planting took years
from that point on. And so 2014 was the first year,
that was the first vintage that was for sale.
So, you know, bought it in 2009. It took till 2014 before
something was actually ready to be.
The 14 was ready but sold in 17. So there you go.
So 2009 to 2017. How much of an educational
process has it been for you? I mean, I love the whole
process, so I just slowly learn. It's not like I went immersion
style and you know, did a course or something like it's for me.
It's just coming to the valley going and doing wine taste
things like while I'm here, I'm going to plan a wine tasting at
someone else's place because that's what I love doing.
When I first came, I still love doing that now.
I also love seeing other properties, hearing other
stories and it's like, I feel like it's one of those
communities where it's a little more of an all for one kind of
community instead of competitive.
You know, it's not like they're, I mean, yes, you kind of get
your friends that you want to send people to.
If you, you know, they come into the valley and you know, taste
my wine like, Oh, go down and see my friend, you know, but
there are like, it's a community and we support each other.
And I think that's kind of what auction Napa Valley says to like
the valley supports the valley. And so so, you know, I love that
sort of mindset and, and there's plenty of, we make a lot of wine
here in this valley, but there's plenty of wine needed in the
world. So there's enough for all.
How did the experience building this vineyard compared to what
you would have expected? There's a lot more rock on this
property than we knew. Like, I don't know what the
number is. I can't remember.
I mean, it was hundreds of tons of of of rock.
And so it took like AD 9, like the biggest, like biggest
tractor out there to break all the rock up.
So it got redistributed. I mean, all the rock here is all
like redistributed from the property, like the rock walls
where there's the water distribution, like the water
separators in each of the blocks.
I mean that's all rock from the property just redistributed.
So I mean, yeah, OK, so there's a lot of rock, but you mean like
from a probably a little bit more of an overview standpoint?
I mean, I think it all went really well.
I don't think there was anything that really, I don't know if
this sounds bad, but I mean, I ended up, you know, drinking a
glass of my wine off the property for the first time and
going like, I look, everything was done here to make sure it
was done at the highest level. Like, you know, my wine maker
helped pick the property like so it's like grade A+ plus soil and
helped, you know, pick the farmers and the root stock and
the clones and you know, like everything to make at the
highest level performing vineyard possible.
But when you drink that first glass of wine, you go, and I was
like, Oh, thank God, it's really good.
You know, you just don't know because sure, you always hope
it's going to be really good, but you don't know until you get
it. So, you know, you're left up to
nature and you know, the process and the people that are in place
and, you know, hoping that it all was done at that highest
level, even though that's the intention and that's what you
think is happening. You know, there's plenty of
things in life that surprise you, but I was surprised in a,
in a, in a, in a relieved way that damn, this is just as good
as I hoped, if not better. So this kind of ties into food
and working out. But you had IVF treatment to
freeze your eggs. Explain how the hormone
treatment changed your body. And why I decided to write a
book on how to like a good fitness program and diet.
That's kind of how it goes. Yeah.
Well, you know, I was like, I remember going to the doctor
when I was like 32 and being like, should I freeze my eggs?
And the, you know, the doctors like you've got plenty of time.
And I was like, OK. And I go away.
I'm thinking, I don't think they get it.
Like I don't have any plans right now.
Like there's no, it's not like maybe next year.
It's like, I don't know when. So then the next year comes
along and I'm 33. And so I asked about it and, you
know, the the my doctor had done it herself.
So I just said, where'd you go, What'd you do?
And went ahead and did it. And, you know, I think that if
you have the ability to create insurance policies for yourself,
go ahead. So I did.
And yeah, it was quite the process.
Lots of shots. Given the fact that I'm afraid
of needles, that was traumatic. But I got over my paranoia of
needles by about 20%, I'd say by doing it.
And, but, but through the process, like, I mean, you're
jacking your hormones around so much.
I mean, just like crazy. And, and so I learned what
hormones can do to the body. And so while I didn't have, I
mean, I think I broke down and started crying randomly like
maybe two or three times. I gained like 4 or 5 lbs in two
weeks, which is not possible when you eat the way I like.
I'm sure I probably was even more disciplined because I
couldn't work out. And, and so yeah, I, I, I was
like, well, I'm going to have to try something new because they
said a month will go by and you'll be able to cycle and then
everything will bounce back out. And that did not happen.
So I, I started doing 2 day workouts and then I started, I
was already gluten and dairy free, but then I decided to try
full paleo, which is eliminating grains and beans and most
sugars. So anyway, so I was like, all
right, here we go. And I was only going to do Paleo
for a week, but I started doing it and I haven't stopped.
That's been years. And then through the, through
the program, through the workouts and doing 2A day
workouts a couple times a week. I was like, Oh my God, like it,
It was so effective. And I was like, man.
How is it effective? Are you just like losing weight
and leaning out and getting stronger and feeling better?
So that's kind of what led to writing the book.
There was a a writer that was it wanted to know if I was
interested in writing a health and fitness book.
And I was like, actually, I thought I'd sworn off all books
after the book that came out in 2006 called Crossing the Line.
And it's just a crappy process. Like it just, it's like, I mean
it was just a totally different that time around.
I spent like 4 days sitting one-on-one with a writer and she
wrote the book and all I did was talk for four days and it's
fine. But like, you know, distribution
sucked and there was no advertising.
I mean it's just like I did like 1 little media tour for it.
But books are tough. And so I was like, I'm never
going to write a book again. That process sucks.
And then the accountability for how many, how many copies are
sold? Like are you really getting the
number? Are you really getting the
information? You know?
So anyway, I thought I'll never write a book again.
And then and then the opportunity came or the, you
know, the thought of it and I was like, I actually think I
have something to say. But if this is not a tell all,
this is not like a, a, this is not a biography about my life.
This is going to be like an educational health and Wellness
and fitness book with a program that has been more effective
than anything else I've ever done and I've worked out since I
was 14 years old. So, so you know, 20 some years
later, I finally found like the most effective thing.
And what did you want to get across?
And so I wanted so the book got broken down into 3 sections.
Mind body in the beginning, then the workout program and why the
you know, chapters on supporting why the program is laid out like
it is. And then food.
And so the recipes as well as you know, information about why
to cut certain things out and why to add certain things in or
eat more of them. So yeah, and I worked my ass off
on it for a year and a half. So it was a lot more work than
Oh my. God, I decided that I was going
to do whatever it took to be successful and it was 100% my
worst paying job. I ended up having to have the
writer come down to me because he was not understanding my
mission with the book and spend time with me to see how I worked
out, see how I ate and sat down and actually talked about the
goals for the book. I wrote the workout program,
tested the whole entire workout program, ran a trial group for
three months for the workout program and did a forum every
day talking to people about what you know about it, building a
website for it so that they could get the information and
get the workouts, writing all the content for it because the
the writer was just regurgitating stuff that he had
already written before. I'm like, I don't think you're
getting it. So I had to write the entire
content for the for the website and and then the recipes,
writing the recipes for the book as well as photographing them
then, which I didn't have to photograph them, but I was going
to have to pay for them to be photographed anyway.
So I'm like, why don't I just get a decent camera?
Let me just try this. So I did.
So I wrote and photographed all the food, writing all the
recipes down, which for someone who really cooks, you don't
measure, you just go like this. I don't even measure when I
bake. So that's probably why I'm not
the greatest Baker, but but so writing down exactly how much
you use and then writing instructions for every recipe
and there's fifty of them. And then when the chapters came
through, it was all like little blurbs.
Kind of just let that went in a long line on APDF or something.
And I'm like, I'm so confused, I don't even know where to start.
So then I was on a flight and I wrote down the outline for the
book and then I sent that through and then I wrote a base
for every single chapter of what I wanted the creative direction
to be. It went from like one paragraph
to like 5 long paragraphs of of information for each chapter and
instructions on what what technical information I wanted,
what research and studies had been done.
I asked for like find a study on this.
I want to know about that. So he kind of became like the
researcher that would go pull that information and have charts
and graphs in there. And then the the workout program
there was before and after photos testimonials.
So there was, you know, interviews with everybody with
like a select like dozen people that did really well and love
the program and had great results.
I mean, it was just a year and a half of constant, so that's a
lot of work. Love and relationships.
Your sister, in an article I read from many years back, was
quoted as saying I always wanted to be a mom where that's not
really something she's had. Meaning you How's that desire
changed over the years on your end?
I mean, kids have crossed my mind since I was in my, you
know, early 20s for sure. Like, you know, you come across
some cute kids along the way, like, oh, that's cool.
Or you think of the idea of it and you're like, you know, I was
always very focused on racing and was never going to quit
racing for it. But like, surrogacy crossed my
mind plenty of times. And, you know, it just was not
in the cards for so long because of, you know, two people have to
want to sit, want the same thing.
And it never was like that. Did her having kids, you were
like, kind? Of increased yeah.
I mean, they're so fun. They're just so great.
And so I, I love seeing her kids and they make me inspired to,
you know, want them because they're fun.
They they're, they're really just amazing little human
beings. What does Danica Patrick look
for in a life partner? Well, I think you just want to
be with someone that reciprocates, right, someone
who's going to love at the same level and the same same way or
the way that you need it, right. I mean, there's like a, you
know, great book called the five love languages.
And you know, everybody receives feels love or receives love, you
know, in a few variety of different ways.
And so, you know, if you're, you know, love tank stays full based
on that. And you know, I think ultimately
the most important thing is that you want to grow together.
And you know, I feel like over time, like I've observed that if
you don't, if you're not growing together in the same way, it
doesn't work. You can be super compatible, not
compatible, it doesn't matter. It hasn't worked out in the
past. So what matters is that you want
to grow in the same way. You want the same things because
that's, I think people kind of grow out of each other.
They grow in different directions, or one grows and one
doesn't. And then you just end up going
not for me anymore. Like I can't stay here.
I'm, I have to keep going. And and so I think that's, I
think that's like a fundamental core necessity for a partner.
Why do you think it works with Aaron?
Well, I think we want to grow in the same way.
I mean, it's not like we've got, you know, 15 years of marriage
to tell you that it worked out, but I believe that we want to
grow in the same way. We both have the same interests.
We both have the same core beliefs and opinions and our
we're open minded people. And while we we do have a lot of
hobbies, the same, we have a few different ones, but generally
we're like similar people. And but most importantly, we
want to, we want to grow. How strange, if at all, is it
for you to all of a sudden be with somebody who you know has
the same level of fame as you and also had an extraordinary
amount of financial success? Well, I finally found someone
who pays for things. There you go.
That's never happened, ever. Like, I would buy dinner.
Literally. Yeah.
Listen. Wait.
Somebody never bought dinner. Super uncomfortable, yeah.
Like, I mean, I would buy dinner most of the time.
It was super uncomfortable in the beginning with Aaron like to
have him paying for things because it was so out of the
norm for me. And you're sure that's just not
you setting the precedent that you want to buy dinner?
It's just a pattern. Like I had to break that pattern
of like, I got it. Like, let me take care of you.
You know, like, that's how I do it.
But I think it's also good because no one's really done
that for him either. And so, you know, we both do
stump. But yes, he pays for most
things. You guys spend 50 hours on a
plane together traveling around the world, so if you aren't sick
of each other yet, that's probably a good thing.
But what do you think each of you like about one another?
Well, I can't answer what he likes about me, but I can tell
you what. Your perspective.
Yeah, I think it's that we're, I really think it's that we both
are interested and interested in similar things.
And that stems from being open minded people, you know?
Yeah. Like it all really started with
me asking if he was stalking me on the astral plane and then it
went from there. So yeah, exactly.
Because the people don't know what that means, but he knew
what that meant. And then it just went from there
and we're like, Oh my God, you wait, you know, but that what
you like this. Oh my God, Like we're like, we
had been friends for six years, 5-6 years and like just friends
as in, like, hey, how's it going?
Or like, oh, Congrats on the game or good race or you know,
sometimes I didn't hear from for a whole year and then I'd hear
from a couple times the next year.
I mean, it was very sporadic, but definitely friend based.
And so, you know, it's just one of those things where we both
went what we're interested in, in unique things that not a lot
of people are. And we're also very open minded
people. So, you know, we love to learn
and educate ourselves. And so, you know, when he buys
me books called like the holographic universe, I'm like,
this is awesome. You know him.
I mean, and I don't, I think people generally know this about
him, but maybe not at the level like I love that he's smart.
I mean, he is a super and super intelligent person and I love to
learn. The older I get, the more I want
to learn. The youth is wasted on the young
when it comes to school. Like I, I love learning now.
I mean, I, I find myself not even wanting to watch on
educational TV. Like I'm watching super soul
Sunday, I'm watching ancient aliens, I'm watching, you know,
documentaries. I'm like, I want to learn.
I don't want to just be, I don't want to dumb down for well, like
at any point when I do it take dogs for the dogs for walks.
I'll listen to YouTube videos, you know, I'll listen to
everything from like, you know, conspiracy theories to Wayne
Dyer and the 10 principles for life or, you know, something
like that. I'll listen to like
inspirational things. So for me, I'm like always
wanting to learn. So I love that he's smart.
It's also a double edged sword because he's really smart and
I'm feeling, I mean, I need to stop saying I'm not smart.
My GED makes me feel like I have to tell people I'm not smart but
but I I I love to grow and so and learn more and he can help
me do that. All right, two quick unrelated
stories that they found kind of funny that they want you to tell
as we wrap up. First one being the Bora Bora
trip with your sister where you each realized when you got there
that this place was way more expensive.
Than you thought, I thought I wasn't going to have enough
credit cards to pay for the trip because I think at that point in
time I had credit cards that had maybe like $1000 limit, a $2000
limit, a $2500 limit. And like this place was $1000 a
night to stay there. And then we went to what seemed
like we were getting invited to like a luau kind of thing.
That was a buffet and we had water and it was like a almost
$200. And I was like, we're not
getting out of here. So what we started doing and not
on top of it, we called a Boris Snore because there was no one
there. And it was so boring.
Like there was. It was like, it was like a
lover's retreat, not a sister retreat.
But I I was dead set on going to Bora Bora.
This is when you first got into racing and first started making.
A little bit of money, like I, I mean, honestly, I thought I had
a boyfriend then and I was like, I'll take him to Bora Bora.
And then we broke up and I was like, I'm still going.
So I took my sister. So Brooke and I went to Bora
Bora and Bora Sonora and I didn't think I was going to have
enough money to leave. I thought I was going to have to
work in the kitchen, but So what we would do is we would eat
breakfast like at the very last minute, and then we would steal
jams, jellies and mustards and bread rolls to take back to the
room. And we would like try and skip
lunch so that we didn't have to spend $200 on lunch.
And then mom packed to what we called Sabotage in our bag,
which was a gigantic bag of trail mix.
And we were like, Oh no, we're not going to eat that.
We're on the GSP they get skinny plan.
We're not eating that trail mix. But we were starving to death
because we were trying to skip lunch.
So we ate that. We ate that bag of trail mix
within like 3 days. And anyway, turns out I had
enough credit cards and we left, but but it was a great trip.
We have great memories. And that's the thing about when
things don't always go well or go right or expected is that,
you know, as as my more best friend than anything, Haley, who
works for me or like I like to say with me making memories, she
taught me that line, so. Thank you very much.
We'll end on that now. Thanks for listening to my
interview with racing icon Danica Patrick.
To see video clips of her chat in a tour of Patrick's beautiful
Vineyard, head to youtube.com/graham Bensinger.
If you enjoyed the podcast, please give us a rating and
review. It goes a long way.
Thank you again for listening.