Who was that Sexy Racer at the Super Bowl?

GoDaddy's Commercial Raised Eyebrows, and Brought Chuckles

W Thomas Payne
Who is Danica Patrick, the GoDaddy girl who pushed the envelope with the racy ad in yesterday's Super Bowl? Racy is right - she's #7 on the Indy Car circuit. And the lady who so temptingly unzipped her racing suit during the Super Bowl but stopped short of overexposing herself.

Patrick at a diminutive 5'2" and soaking-wet 100 pounds is the driver behind Team Danica. Patrick was born March 25, 1982 in Beloit, Wisconsin.

She began her racing career in 1998 at the age of 16, competing in the Formula Vauxhall competition, in which drivers compete in nearly-identical British formula 1 cars. Formula Vauxhall is often called "a major step in a young driver's career." She only competed in the winter series that year, but did the full circuit in 1999.

She trained in Canada while still a teenager, and raced relentlessly before her rookie season as a professional in 2005, the watershed year for her career. She was named USA Today's Female athlete of the year that year, and finished second in the Associated Press poll.

That might be because of her good looks, or it might be because she earned the number 4 pole position at the Indy 500 that year - the same position in which she finished the race, getting her the Chase Rookie of the Year award. Or it could be that she shares the record for a rookie driver with 3 pole position starts at races around the country that same year.

Her career skyrocketed from there. In 2006, Patrick finished ninth in the overall standings, despite having sat out the first race of the season, with eight top ten finishes.

Her sponsorships kicked into high gear that year. Currently she is sponsored by GoDaddy, the internet registration and hosting company, Bell Racing famous for their line of protective headgear based in beautiful Rantoul, Illinois, Motorola, XM Satellite Radio, AirTran Airways, Honda, Firestone Tires, Meijer Stores, Peak Anitfreeze, Tissot, AlpineStars (makers of racing gear and apparel), Keanon Polarized, Marquis Jet, and Samsonite Luggage.

Her ad in the Super Bowl was nearly blocked by censors at FOX Sports, concerned with the potential for misunderstanding the sexy double entendre message of models arriving at an event - all showing off their beavers, in a wild send up of paparazzi lunacy filming Britney Spears exiting a car sans underwear.

"No live beavers were used in the filming of "Exposure."... mostly because they are nasty, and bite like hell. "

Guys, stop salivating. Ms. Patrick is happily married, living in Arizona with her husband and miniature schnauzer Billy. I'm sure Billy bites like hell, too.

Published by W Thomas Payne

25 year pro at marketing, advertising, and writing creative copy to draw the mind and the interest of the reader. Freelance journalist and photographer. Drop me a note if you have a hot news story in centr...  View profile

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