My First Ride: Danica Patrick
Have you ever wondered what car your favorite celeb learned to drive on? Was it a hand-me-down junker, or was she lucky enough to get a set of shiny new wheels on her 16th birthday? Lucky for you, we can answer just that question with our new feature, My First Ride. We’ll be asking many of your favorite movie stars, athletes and others three basic questions: What was the first car you drove, what was the first new car you owned and what are you driving now.
To kick this thing off, we checked in with T.J. Patrick, father of Indy Racing League driver Danica Patrick.
As you might expect, Danica didn’t learn to drive on just any car — her first set of wheels was a black ’98 Ford Mustang Cobra hardtop, also making it her first new car. According to T.J., 15-year-old Danica was looking for something with power that would let her practice shifting and braking. She certainly put the car to the test, her dad says, and picked up a couple of speeding tickets to prove it. Her Mustang frequently needed new brakes and rotors, T.J. said, and required new tires every 5,000 miles; she eventually upgraded to competition brakes and rotors.
“She drove it a bit hard,” T.J. said. “She was always grabbing 5th gear at the ‘stop ahead’ sign.”
As for what she drives now, Danica hasn’t left her love for high-performance cars on the racetrack. These days, her dad says, she splits her time evenly between a 2006 Acura MDX and a silver 2004 Lamborghini Gallardo — perfect for those last-minute trips to the grocery store.
Tell us about your first ride in our comments: What was the first car you ever drove, what was your first new car and what are you driving now?
[Ford Mustang Cobra photo courtesy of Ford]
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So what I gather from this article is that Danica drove like a jack-ass. New tires every 5k? Driving recklessly at age 15? Let's be honest, this article would not exist if she was a guy. There must be better things to fill-up space on this board with.
We hope to add just as many men to the series but obviously Danica is now part of mainstream culture so there isn't much to argue over her worthiness to be on the blog.
So what? This article DOES exist and if you think there should be one about a guy driver then go tell them. Go get some GUY racecar driver's parent's and tell them to do this. I think it's pretty cool! Plus Danica IS a BIG part of the IRL right now so maybe that's why they put this up here too! DUH!
Oh well i drive like that.and i race i have a mustang i need tires every 6000 miles.need brakes every 2months.so what shes my fav driver
I was thrilled to learn this blog exists! Danica is the reason I gulped my fears and bought a 2008 Nissan Altima (fully equipped six speed that is)! I've always thought about driving a HOT manual transmission vehicle but didn't have the nerve to actually invest in one. I'm proud of Danica and everthing that she has accomplished. I even told my daughters all about her! AS I, THEY WERE IMPRESSED! So it sounds like you're the jackass buddy! Go Danica!