Danica Patrick has everything going for her at once, as not only has she gained fame from being the most competitive female on the racing circuit, but because of her dark beauty, she's also a model and a spokeswoman for a number of companies and products; an number of them related to the auto industry.

As of this writing, Patrick is racing in the IndyCar Series, although talks of her moving up have been circulating, it's doubtful she'll do that with the larger cars, which would be much more difficult for her to handle.

Another factor would be the need to prove herself more in the IndyCar series, before moving up, as if she did that and never was able to conquer it, she would be considered more of a failure than the winner she is at this time.

At this level she was named the Rookie of the Year for the 2005 IndyCar Series season, along with the 2005 Indianapolis 500. More than anything, those achievements brought her into the public eye, and in 2006 she wrote an autobiography named, 'Danica: Crossing the Line."

All of this before she won anything. We'll get to that later.

Danica tells us that at the age of 10 she began to go-kart, in 1992. She eventually excelled in that, and won a number of championships in the World Karting Association.

About 6 years later Patrick moved to England to develop her racing skills in relative obscurity, until she ended up finished the highest ever for a woman in the Formula Ford Festival of Britain, ending up in second place. That brought her some attention.

A lot of people may not know this, but late night television host David Letterman, along with former Indy race driver Bobby Rahal, hired Patrick to ride for them under Rahal Letterman moniker.

After signing on in 2002, Patrick quickly migrated to the Toyota Atlantic Championship in 2003 after a few starts in the Barber Dodge Pro Series.  

She showed a lot of potential at that early stage of her career, but still struggled to finish in the top spot. She did end up finishing in the top three positions on a regular basis.

Consistency has been one of her strengths, even to today, as she always lingers in the top of the standings even though she still has difficulty finishing in the No. 1 position.

In summer of 2006, Danica Patrick announced she had signed a deal to drive with the Andretti Green Racing team, taking over for Bryan Herta, who had driven the #7 Dallara Honda.

Go Daddy, which created the controversial commercial with Patrick, along with XM Radio and Motorola sponsored her car.

It was a step that paid off for her in a relatively short time, as she began racing for them in the beginning of 2007.

Danica Patrick isn't the first woman race driver to be successful, as she's followed in the footsteps of others like Lyn St. James, Janet Guthrie and Sarah Fisher, who have all raced in the Indianapolis 500.

But even if she was to retire today, she would be the most successful female driver, not only being the only woman to win an IndyCar Series race, topping the podium for finishing first in the 2008 Indy Japan 300, but finishing in a number of positions near the top for certain individual speedways never achieved before by other women.

I think she wants to cap things off with a few more wins though, as it would solidify her as the top female racer for some time, and it would force those coming behind her to excel to reach her level.

All of this is good, and Patrick is a very good and competitive driver, but the real force she is is her marketing and star power. She's not only beautiful and talented, but she has a knack for modeling and is comfortable in front of a camera.

For racing, every time Danica Patrick is in a commercial or on one of the numerous magazine's covers she's posed for and been interviewed in, it's a been a boost for racing. The two can't be separated, and many times her photos or videos are included with an auto or iece of car racing equipment.

The fact that she's good at what she does adds to the mix, contrary to tennis, who marketed a beautiful but not-too-talented player who never won, but was always in the spotlight. It didn't have the same authenticity that comes with Danica Patrick, who has won the grudging respect of most of her fellow racers.

What does the future hold for Danica Patrick? She has so many options available, it's hard to tell. There's almost nothing she couldn't do as far as promotions go, although she would have to reinvent herself in some way once she's no longer in the public eye racing, which has given her such continual exposure to the public, along with the racing-against-the-big-boys thing, which is captivating and fun to watch.

With her presence, beauty and ability to work in front of a camera, I wouldn't be surprised to see Patrick doing some announcing in the future. It would be surprising if she disappeared out of the small screen altogether.

I've never heard her talk of whether she wanted children, and so that may play a factor in some of her decisions if she does, depending on her personal feelings in the matter, as well as her husband's.

Another thing she looks like she could get into if she wanted to go in that direction would be acting. She does seem to have a comfort level in front of the camera, and her numerous photo sessions in front of a crowd, appearances, and interviews, has already primed and prepared her for that if she has an interest.

Danica Patrick is still a young woman, and even though she's a media darling and good for NASCAR and car racing in general, I think she wants to stay behind the wheel for some time before she walks away from it permanently.

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