Why was Danica Patrick nominated for the Game Changer of 2018 Award?

Danica Patrick was nominated for the Game Changer of 2018 Award in the People’s Choice Awards. But what did she do to “change the game” in 2018?

Danica Patrick announced last November that after 13 consecutive years of competing full-time in either IndyCar, the NASCAR Xfinity Series or the NASCAR Cup Series. She also announced that she would be compete in the “Danica Double” — the 2018 Daytona 500 and 2018 Indianapolis 500 — before officially retiring from professional racing.

Now officially retired from professional racing, Patrick has been announced as one of the 12 nominees for for the Game Changer of 2018 Award in the People’s Choice Awards. The live broadcast of the announcements of the winners of this award and the other awards is scheduled to air on E! on Sunday, November 11 at 9:00 p.m. ET.

Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon, Olympic gymnasts Aly Raisman and Simone Biles, Olympic snowboarder Chloe Kim, soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo, NFL quarterbacks Colin Kaepernick and Nick Foles, NBA small forwards Kevin Durant and LeBron James, WWE wrestler Nia Jax and tennis player Serena Williams are the other 11 athletes who have been nominated for the Game Changer of 2018 Award.

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But what did the 36-year-old Beloit, Wisconsin native do to “change the game” 2018?

It is no secret that Patrick’s racing career is more than noteworthy and is far more impactful than a lot of people are led to believe it is. She is the first woman to win an IndyCar race and the first woman to start from the pole position in a Cup Series race. Her best Daytona 500 finish of eighth place and her best Indy 500 finish of third are the best finishes of all-time by a woman driver in those races, and she is one of only 14 drivers who have led laps in both of those races. She is the only woman who has done so.

The other 13 drivers who have done so are Bobby Allison, A.J. Allmendinger, John Andretti, Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, Robby Gordon, Jim Hurtubise, Juan Pablo Montoya, Tim Richmond, Johnny Rutherford, Tony Stewart, Al Unser and Bobby Unser, of whom many are racing legends. Only Patrick, Allmendinger, Mario Andretti, Foyt, Gordon, Montoya and Stewart have led both of these races for at least five laps each.

But none of these things took place in 2018. Patrick’s lone career win as a professional race car driver came more than 10 years ago in the 2008 IndyCar race at Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, Japan, and her lone pole position in the Cup Series came back in 2013 for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.

Patrick’s eighth place finish in the 2013 Daytona 500 is her highest in the race, and her third place finish in the 2009 Indy 500 is her highest in that race. She last led laps in the Indy 500 in 2011, and she last did so in the Daytona 500 in 2014. She became one of the drivers who have led laps in both of those races back in 2013.

But as far as 2018 goes, how did Patrick “change the game”?

E! News even states that Danica Patrick “is the only woman to win an IndyCar Series race” in their short write-up regarding why she was nominated for this award. Again, this happened more than 10 years ago in April of 2008.

What did she do this year?

For starters, she slammed into a spinning Chase Elliott in turn three of Daytona International Speedway during the 102nd lap of the Daytona 500 back in February, ending her Cup Series career. Then on lap 68 of the Indy 500, she spun out and hit the wall in what she referred to as an “edgy” turn two of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, ending her IndyCar and her professional racing career.

This crash also brought the “Danica Double” to an end after just 420 — ironically the date on which she won the race in Japan back in 2008 — of the intended 1,000 miles.

While 2018 is the year in which she retired following a professional racing career that is better than a lot of people give her credit for, Patrick didn’t do much to “change the game” in 2018 aside of her contribution in terms of changing the racing conditions from green flag conditions to caution flag conditions in both of the races in which she competed.

As far as being on the level of 11 other athletes — 10 if you don’t count Colin Kaepernick, who, controversy aside, “changed the game” in 2016 with his national anthem protest, so why he is a nominee for the Game Changer of 2018 Award more than two years after the fact is about as inexplicable as why Patrick is — for “changing the game” in 2018, Patrick simply doesn’t cut it.

Why? One brief yet revealing way of looking at it is by looking at the fact that in 2018, nominees Aly Raisman and Simone Biles wrecked sexual predator Larry Nassar, and they continue to have a worldwide impact.

To put it in perspective, Patrick wrecked a Premium Motorsports Chevrolet and an Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, and she has since retired. She is a game changer, but certainly not in 2018.

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Should Danica Patrick be a nominee for the Game Changer of 2018 Award just because she retired from her professional racing career this year? Regardless, do you believe that she has a chance to win it? Tune in to E! on Sunday, November 11 at 9:00 p.m. ET for the live broadcast of the People’s Choice Awards to find out who the winner of the award will be.

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