"I was just emotional": When Danica Patrick opened up about crying while announcing her NASCAR retirement

Former NASCAR driver Danica Patrick once got emotional over letting go of her full-time seat. Per USA Today, Patrick explained that while she was tough on most days, she shed tears because she was an emotional person.

The interview happened ahead of the 2017 NASCAR season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where she was the driver of the #10 Stewart-Haas Racing car. The seat was later given to Aric Almirola before Noah Gragson took over for a year during the team's final season in 2024.

Danica Patrick, who ran five full-time NASCAR Cup Series seasons, elaborated on her reaction while announcing her retirement from the American stock car racing series.

“I’m an emotional person, shockingly,” Patrick said.

“Have you ever said the things you don’t ever want to say out loud? Things that are sad? It's hard to say things out loud. Period. I was just emotional. You see me as really (expletive) tough. You see me with my ‘tough’ face on. I’m not talking about emotional (expletive). The only emotional (expletive) that you see me talking about, makes me mad. Here I am with a different emotion, and I’m showing you that,” she added.

Danica Patrick during the 2017 Ford EcoBoost 400 - Source: Imagn

Unfortunately, Danica Patrick settled with a DNF on her final race as a full-time driver. The then-Stewart-Haas Racing driver hit the wall off turns 1 and 2 before Kasey Kahne crashed into her on lap 142. She returned for a one-off entry in the Daytona 500 the following year, but she also had a DNF after getting collected in a multi-car crash.

Patrick concluded her Cup Series career with seven top-10 finishes. One of her most memorable milestones was securing the pole position for the 2013 Daytona 500, making her the first female driver to achieve the feat.

---

“I have stayed me”: When Danica Patrick shared what she considered her greatest accomplishment

Despite being a famed personality in motorsports, Danica Patrick said her greatest accomplishment did not come on the track. Instead, staying true to herself without letting money or fame change her was her most significant feat.

In a 2020 interview with Behind the Brand, the now-43-year-old told Bryan Elliott:

“That I have stayed me [...] I'm still in contact with people I went to high school with, and so I would imagine because I've heard it from that they could tell you like, 'yeah, she's just the same as she used to be.” [44:45]

“I think that just not letting money or pride or fame or any of that crap that you know can kind of twist things, change me,” she added. [45:14]

Outside NASCAR, Patrick competed in the IndyCar Series, where she became the first female driver to win a race (2008 Indy Japan 300). She currently shares her Formula 1 insights as a presenter for Sky Sports, mostly during race weekends in America. She also participated in Netflix's Formula 1: Drive to Survive, a docuseries covering the ins and outs of the sport.