Danica Patrick Accuses IndyCar Of Not Paying Her What She Was Owed
Danica Patrick will be back at the Indy 500 on Sunday.
The former racing star, who retired from the sport in 2018, will be on the Indy 500 broadcast for Fox Sports. She'll take part in covering the most iconic race in American sports, a race that she is very familiar with.
Patrick, who rose to racing fame during her time in IndyCar and NASCAR, joined Andretti Green Racing in 2008. That's where she made history, becoming the first woman to win an IndyCar race.
But Patrick ultimately left IndyCar for NASCAR in a heated move in 2012. Patrick has since opened up about what really happened.
The former racing star admitted in an interview with Will Buxton that all was not well with herself and the Andretti IndyCar racing team.
In fact, Patrick says that there were legal issues, regarding payment and her contract, among other things.
Patrick sounds off on money owed
Patrick says she wasn't happy. She felt she was owed more money than she received.
"I just kind of really wasn't happy where I was anymore," Danica Patrick said on SPEED with NASCAR legend Kevin Harvick and Will Buxton. "The team situation was-nobody really knew what was going on, but I was in a profit-sharing situation with Andretti at that time," she continued.
"That was the way my contract was structured, and they were not paying me what I was supposed to get paid. And so then there were legal battles behind the scenes.
"I mean, I was after that for the last year and a half that I was with them, which ended up going all the way through arbitration. So that was a stressful and frustrating situation to be taken advantage of."
Patrick ultimately left IndyCar for NASCAR, making history in both sports.
She hopes that she can set an example for all.
"That is not what I'm trying to say, but if you have a talent for something, to not be afraid to follow through with it and not feel different, not feel like you are less qualified or less competent to do the job ? let it be about what your potential is."
"I've had the experience with mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, listening to them say the reason why they're here as a family today is because of me out there,'' she said.
"Whether it brings the girls out, the guys out, whatever it is, I don't care. That's nice to hear. It's also nice to hear families talk about the fact that a little girl might say, 'But Mommy, Daddy, that's a girl out there.'
"Then they can have the conversation with their kid about [how] you can do anything you want, and being different doesn't by any means not allow you to follow your dreams. I love to think that conversation happens in households because of something I'm doing."
The 2026 Indy 500 is set for Sunday.
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This story was originally published May 21, 2026 at 6:31 AM.