Driven to Make a Difference

Danica Patrick moves fast, but in her fight against COPD, she wants us all to stop and take a breath.

By Chris Mann

Racing wunderkind and Go Daddy spokeshottie Danica Patrick has mastered maneuvering the steepest of curves—behind the wheels of 1,500-lb Indycars and 3,400-lb. stock cars and, in her teeny-weeny Sports Illustrated bikini, on the hood of a vintage 1960s AC Cobra.  But the 5’2”, 105-lb. dynamo found herself far less equipped to handle the curve life threw her when her beloved grandmother died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, at age 65 in 2001. Ten years later, the NASCAR and Indy star, 29, is steering her grandma’s memory—and life-changing early detection—into the spotlight as a celebrity ambassador for the Drive4COPD campaign. Since 2010, the initiative, through NASCAR races, other live events and Drive4COPD.com, has screened more than 1 million people potentially at risk for the progressive lung disease, which is the nation’s fourth leading cause of death.

“This is a very underdiagnosed disease,” Patrick stresses. “If it’s not treated, you lose lung function. That’s why this campaign is so important, so you can become aware of the signs and symptoms. If you catch it early, you can start to take care of it so you slow its progression and live a pretty normal life.”

The first woman to win an Indy race, however, lives anything but a normal life. Juggling both the Indy and NASCAR circuits since last year, Patrick maintains a breakneck pace in her professional life, burning rubber across the globe during her nearly 10-month racing season. When not manhandling a massive speedracer, the power-packed athlete builds her strength and endurance at the gym and, thanks to her globe-trotting running shoes, along the streets of racecar-loving lands remote and distant with her husband, Paul Edward Hospenthal, a physical therapist and personal trainer. As rumors mount that she will soon leave Indy for a full-time NASCAR gig, Patrick tells Get Active! how she revs up her workout on and off the track while raising awareness for a cause so close to her heart.

Get Active: What does it mean to you personally to spread the word about COPD awareness—and to see such promising results in the last year?

Danica Patrick: It is very encouraging—and very needed. It unfortunately took this long to get to this point. Many people didn’t learn about this disease until this campaign started. I’m affected directly and I’m still learning about it. It’s an eye-opening campaign. The fact that COPD kills more people than diabetes and breast cancer combined really makes you stop and take notice.

GA: It is an awakening. What do you think your grandma would make of your efforts?

DP: I have no doubt she’d be proud. If she was still here and able to see me do something like this, she’d also be sad, because she’d realize she could have done something earlier (to slow COPD’s progression). I’m sure she can still see and hear what I’m doing and is proud. And that’s okay. I hear a lot of people’s appreciation for this campaign. So many people have a (similar) story. Unfortunately, it’s not a story that gets told until it’s too late.

GA: Along with early detection, how can working out positively affect those with COPD?

DP: I would imagine that at this point in time we would all realize that working out is important for heart health, for cardiovascular health, for your blood, for your lungs and for your brain—let’s not forget those lovely endorphins that you get from working out. I’m not a doctor but I know that, if anything, working out will help you realize that you can’t work out well—and that tells you that something is wrong. If you can’t exercise properly without quickly running out of breath, get to your doctor, talk to him or her about it and your options.

GA: As the face of COPD awareness, you are the very picture of physical fitness and upper-body strength. What exercises best address the demands of your sport?

DP: Definitely a bridge between cardiovascular and weight lifting. Our races are between two and four hours long—and you need strength. Indy Cars don’t have power steering, so you use your own force to steer the wheel. Stock cars are very repetitious and you’re using different muscles to turn the car. Race car drivers don’t need the strength of a bodybuilder or the endurance of a triathlete, but we definitely need a lot of both.

GA: What’s your workout like on-season?

DP: I do three-day lifts. I do two days of upper body—pushing and pulling—and a day of lower body. I do cardio for endurance almost every day. Sometimes I like to get out and take a long bike ride. And I walk a lot. Sometimes I do fast and hard cardio and sometimes I do long and steady.

GA: How does your workout change off-season? Is your focus then more on strength building and body sculpting for your spokesmodel work?

DP: (Laughs.) There are particular times when I partake in different types of training for swimsuit shoots and things like that. I have to take time off at the end of the season—especially from weightlifting—to give my body a break. I like to do a little bit of yoga in the off-season. I don’t often get a chance to do it in season, so I incorporate yoga. And I also just take a break. My off season is around Thanksgiving to early to mid-February. I like to take December off then spend the month of January in the gym so I can take some time being sore. Because you can’t be sore while you’re in the car.

GA: How often do you hit the gym when you’re at home and while traveling?

DP: I travel with my running shoes. Running outside is the best way to see a new city or area. I love running—if someone told me I could lose weight by not running, I don’t think I could do it. (Laughs.) When my husband and I were in Australia a couple of years ago, we got up early and went running on our last day there. We were staying right underneath the bridge and ran around the outside of the Sydney Opera House and a beautiful garden area.

Sometimes I use a weight room if the hotel where I’m staying has a gym. I try not to use a lot of gyms when I’m traveling. I’m a member of a gym, and I try to use my gym at home most of the time.

GA: How else do you stay active during your breaks?

DP: My husband and I like to travel and see new places. One of our vacation criteria is to go to new wine regions of the world. Last December we went to New Zealand, and Australia a year or two before that. It was all spawned from our first anniversary when we went to Napa. And we’ve gone back ever since—it’s a beautiful part of the world. We get to see different cultures, and it’s so fun to go wine tasting.

GA: What’s your nutrition like, on and off the track?

DP: My job is very physical, so I need to eat—and eat enough. Because I don’t overeat, I need food every three to four hours. Good snacks are anything from peanut butter toast and turkey sandwiches to good, healthy protein bars and fruit and nuts. When I’m away from the car and in the off season I eat pretty much what I want in moderation. You know what, I can have a cheeseburger with a fried egg on it—but half of it is all I’ll eat. Just eat a salad first and fill up on the stuff that’s good for you.

GA: What do you hope to gain in switching from IndyCars to NASCAR?

DP: Well, I’m not switching—that’s just speculation. I haven’t made an announcement yet about my future plans. I started NASCAR racing last year. And last year was definitely a learning experience. This spring I placed fourth (at the Sam’s Town 300 Nationwide NASCAR Series race) in Vegas—which was the highest finish ever for a female in a NASCAR national. And I was close to winning the Daytona in July. It’s a learning curve, as with anything new.

GA: How do you perceive your role as a woman in a male-dominated domain—and your role in empowering young girls?

DP: To be honest about it, I don’t really think about that. I don’t think about being the best girl—I think about being the best racecar driver. I don’t think about being a trailblazer, or being a woman in a male’s domain. I just think about being the best me.

GA: And maybe that’s the message for girls right there—just be the best, period.

DP: Exactly. That’s the message.

Chris Mann is a writer and editor of the pop culture webzine Retroality.TV.