Race- car driver’s interests explored in documentary
TV REVIEW
Danica Patrick grabs headlines in the world of racing even when she doesn’t win.
One of the most recognizable faces in sports, she has appeared on many magazine covers, from two editions of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue to TV Guide.
Toss in starring in more Super Bowl commercials that any other celebrity — 14 — and it’s understandable why she has been repeatedly approached to be the subject of a documentary.
Patrick declined offers during the past 15 years until she was approached by broadcaster Hannah Storm with the idea of putting together a film that would document the sports superstar’s life and career. “Danica” will make its debut tonight on the premium-cable network Epix.
Patrick was hesitant to do a documentary because she had been the subject of one such film examination when she was 19. Having a camera crew follow her and doing constant interviews for the film became exhausting.
“Since then, my agent would call and he would say, ‘We have this opportunity. Be open-minded.’ I would ask if it was a documentary and he would say, ‘Well, yes.’ I would tell him that I just wasn’t interested in doing a documentary,” Patrick said.
“I’m not in the business of exposing myself. I’m not a reality star; I’m a race-car driver. If I was going to do a documentary we needed to agree on — and everyone needed to understand — what the point of it would be.”
The focus of the film is to show Patrick as she has never been seen before: as a competitor preparing for her next race; as a woman contemplating when she wants to start a family; and as a business mogul navigating her way through projects that include a clothing line and a healthy-living book with 50 recipes that she created and photographed.
“She is historic in her profession, and she is a role model and an inspiration in that way,” Storm said. “I think you are going to see so many sides of her that people don’t know, but overall, I would say, (she is) incredibly relatable.”
Patrick has been behind a wheel since she was a child competing in go-karts. After racing at various levels in different race cars, Patrick attracted national attention in May 2005, when she stunned the world by leading 19 laps and finishing fourth in her first Indianapolis 500 — the first woman to lead laps and score a top-five finish in the race.
Three years later, Patrick became the first woman to win a race in a major North American open-wheel series with her victory in the IndyCar Indy Japan 300 in Motegi.
Her success on the track has put Patrick in an exclusive group, but she is cautious of those who think that makes her somehow different.
“I know I live a unique life. I’m not naive. But I also am living in it every day. I’m a regular human being who fights all the same things that everyone in the room does — different problems, different fears, but all the same,” Patrick said.
“I truly believe everyone reaches the same level of fear, of insecurity. It’s just about varying degrees of things. So I guess that if I were to point one thing out as being something that I feel like people will be surprised about is how soft I can get.”