Danica Patrick explains why Indy 500 racing was 'a whole other thing' for her

The 2025 Indy 500 is just a day away. Ahead of it, the former racing driver Danica Patrick has given her take on what made the 200-lap race a special thing for her during her active years.

Patrick's maiden outing in the Indy 500 came in 2005 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (led 19 laps). She was even chosen as that year's Indy 500 Rookie of the Year.

With the 2025 event just around the corner, the 43-year-old has given her take on how the event was a "whole other thing" for her during her racing days.

"The only thing I thought when I was young, as I was coming up through racing, is I just thought to myself that if can make it, it'll be a big deal. But I don't know what that meant. I just knew it'd be a big deal because it was just something that hadn't really happened. Women had been in racing, but to do well is like a whole other thing," Patrick said via Fox Sports.

Danica Patrick's last outing in the Indy 500 came in the 2018 event, which also turned out to be her last overall outing of her racing career.

I was a methodical driver: Danica Patrick

The Indy 500 has been held since 1911. Over the years, it has brought several top drivers to prominence, including Danica Patrick.

In most of her outings at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Patrick drove well (amassed P3 in 2009 Indy 500), and in line with this, she explained via the same interaction with FOX, why she was good at the track.

"I was very good at trusting my instincts, and if the car didn't feel right, I just didn't drive. I'd just come in, or we would work on it and or I wouldn't drive over my head, as I was a methodical driver," Patrick further added.

Patrick's career at the top level of American motorsport began in 2005 with her debut IndyCar season. Moreover, her career in the racing category came to an end in 2018, and during this time, she managed 116 race starts alongside a single Grand Prix (2008 Indy Japan 300) with seven podiums and three pole positions.

Other than open-wheel racing, she also competed in a truckload of NASCAR Cup Series races. Patrick amassed a whopping 191 race starts with seven top-tens and a solitary pole position.

Since bringing the curtain down on her racing career, she has become an esteemed motorsport pundit, a podcast host, and an entrepreneur. She will be seen in a pundit's role at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the build-up of Sunday's race.