Danica Patrick is one of the most successful female racing drivers in the history of Motorsports, witnessing multiple firsts for women in American auto racing. She has received several recognitions for her achievements in the past. Patrick can now add Brad Keselowski to the list, for the latter's latest statement.

On May 15, Keselowski reshared an old racing clip of Patrick from May 15, 2005, to commemorate one of her special races. In the video, former driver Patrick was attempting the Indy 500 pole before losing grip momentarily and placing herself in fourth.

Keselowski, mentioning how she was the "best" female driver, put her on a pedestal to give her a Greatest of All Time or GOAT status.

"IMO @DanicaPatrick was by a large margin the Best female race car driver of all time," wrote the Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing driver. "It’s an absolute shame she doesn’t get more credit or recognition from the racing community."

The 44-year-old driver from Beloit, Wisconsin, is the first female driver to win an IndyCar Series race and has the only pole by a female driver in the NASCAR Cup Series.

The 2005 Rookie of the Year in IndyCar, Patrick has 116 IndyCar races to her name. In NASCAR, she spent quite a few more years, with over 250 races in over seven years.

While Keselowski did not hesitate to call Patrick the “best” female racer, he also made an important point about the future of young drivers in NASCAR.

Brad Keselowski Questions NASCAR Policy, Roots for Young Drivers

Keselowski questioned NASCAR's reduced time for practice during race weekends. Putting forth his concern, the veteran racing driver stated that reduced practice time does not give the drivers ample track exposure. As a result it creates issues for both drivers and the teams.

“As a driver and an owner, it’s critical to the health of the sport," he said. "Not having it is a big miss for guiding the stars of the future. It’s a big miss for how teams budget."

The #6 driver also mentioned how less track time does not help the teams collect data and improve their cars for the race day.

According to Keselowski, reduced practice sessions create challenges for younger drivers trying to gain experience at the Cup Series level, while smaller teams miss out on critical time needed to improve performance during race weekends.

“It’s what is best for the drivers that are coming up and for team owners who are trying to compete at a high level that aren’t where they want to be," he further added.

As per the latest NASCAR rule, the governing body allows 20 minutes of practice per driver in the road course tracks and 20 to 50 minutes of practice on ovals, depending on the track types and size.

Read more at RFK Racing Digest.

Written by

Sabyasachi Biswas

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar