Former race car driver Danica Patrick grew up in Roscoe, Illinois and now lives in Chicago. She is aware of the impact that winter weather can have on the roads. The cycles of freezing and thawing and de-icing treatments can result in road depletion.
But when NASCAR hosts its inaugural street race in Chicago on July 1st and 2nd – a longtime victim of Old Man Winter – Patrick believes the road conditions will be the least of the drivers’ concerns.
“I’m sure the City of Chicago will make sure there aren’t any real potholes where the track goes,” Patrick said. “If there are any, they will be filled in.”
The course guides drivers through downtown, taking them onto Columbus Drive, DuSable Lake Shore Drive, Michigan Avenue and other streets. Street courses are more common in single-seater racing, and Patrick competed on them in IndyCar, the Atlantic Championship and the defunct Barber Dodge series. So she knows what to expect for stock car drivers.
“The track is very dirty and bumpy at the beginning,” she said. “It almost feels like a carnival ride out there. You just don’t know what to expect, so get used to it. Also, it can take a little time just to see where you’re going since they’re not sprawling expanses. It’s walls. There’s not much room for error, so you’ll have to be methodical if you don’t want to crash. If not, then maybe.
“Usually at the beginning of the weekend it’s like saying, ‘Oh, that’s different.’ But as soon as the track gives a little and loosens up, you get the feeling of being on a street track again. The competition always feels the same in the end.”
Danica Patrick during the 2005 Indy 500 qualifier.
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Patrick drove IndyCar and NASCAR from 2005 to 2018. In 2005, she became the first woman to lead the Indianapolis 500 (leading 19 laps), finishing fourth. In 2008, she became the first woman to win a major league open wheel race and won the Indy Japan 300 of the IndyCar Series.
After transitioning to production cars, she took pole for the 2013 Daytona 500, becoming the first woman to win a pole in the NASCAR Cup Series. She placed eighth, the best performance by a woman in the history of the race.
Patrick said that open wheel cars and stock cars react differently on street circuits. She thinks NASCAR drivers should have it easier.
“Yeah, it’s still an elite car and all, but when you put an IndyCar on the road or you put a production car on the road, a manhole cover can feel like a mountain in an IndyCar,” said Patrick. “But in a production car it probably won’t be quite as dramatic as there is a big difference in height between the underside of the car and the road. Yes, the shrapnel and such will still get as low as it can go, but it’s not quite as close to the bottom. And it’s not that rigid. So I think it’s probably going to work out really well.”
fun but exhausting
The weekend also includes concerts and activities, but in Patrick’s experience, drivers don’t have time for that, let alone a chance to enjoy Chicago.
“While it’s super fun and cool to be in a city and have a lot of things to do, restaurants and everything else, as a driver you don’t really partake in the fun stuff,” she said. “It’s not like you go to the best restaurants and bars. you don’t drink They eat and go back to bed at an appropriate time. Usually you are tired.”
Danica Patrick has found a new home in broadcasting.
Chris Graythen/Getty Images
This is similar to Patrick’s routine as a presenter, her role since retiring from racing. Her schedule includes ten races spanning the Formula 1, IndyCar and NASCAR circuits, and last month she completed her fifth Indy 500. (She won’t be attending the Chicago race.) Although broadcasters have more freedom than drivers to dive into the scene is not much more.
“The beauty of being done with the race is that you can enjoy some of it to a degree,” said Patrick. “But [when] I was in Miami for the F1 race and did the transmission. I literally had lunch, warmed it up before leaving the route, ate it for dinner on the bus home and then just went back to the hotel.
“We weren’t in downtown Miami, but we were still in Miami enough to find good restaurants and have a good time. But I was so exhausted. When you work, it’s just very different than when you’re there as a spectator.”
Patrick is a natural on camera, but has also learned some valuable broadcasting lessons.
“Be concise,” she said. “If you are a driver [the interviewer wants you] Developing stories, telling them and going into details. But as a moderator or analyst, it’s far better to be concise. Another thing is not to always refer to myself. I am in the position I am in because I am an expert in this field. I don’t necessarily have to justify that.”
If Patrick were in Chicago for the races, she would know the hotspots. She still owns a condo in River North. Her permanent home is Scottsdale, Arizona, where she owns an 8,300-square-foot mansion.
Danica Patrick, who is attending a Blackhawks game, regrets not taking more time to visit Chicago.
“Every time I come back I’m like, ‘I need to come here more often,’ and then I don’t,” Patrick said of her Chicago travels. “And every time I come back I think the same thing: ‘I need to come here more often.’ And then I don’t. It is great [being there].”
The city and NASCAR hope viewers feel the same way. The circuit has not had a presence in the greater Chicago area since Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet lost its races in 2020 due to the pandemic and was not given dates in 2021.
Patrick hopes the races will have a lasting impact.
“I think it’s cool,” she said. “Street racing is a great way to get people involved in racing, and NASCAR is a great sport to bring to a street race.”