Swimsuit

Danica Patrick’s 5 Most Spectacular SI Swim Photos in Florida

The retired professional race car driver was featured in back-to-back issues of the magazine.

Cara O’Bleness

Danica Patrick

Danica Patrick was photographed by Ben Watts in Singer Island, Fla.

Danica Patrick incorporated her pro racing gear into her beachfront bikini looks during her SI Swimsuit debut in 2008. That year, she traveled to Singer Island, Fla., where she posed for photographer Ben Watts. Patrick returned to the fold the following year, and worked with visual artist Marlena Bielinska in a New York studio.

Though the Wisconsin native retired from racing full-time in 2017, she returned to the track to compete in the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500 the following year before completely stepping away from her sport. Today, the 41-year-old hosts the Pretty Intense podcast and has ventured into entrepreneurship. Patrick is the owner of Somnium, a winery in Napa Valley, Calif., and the proprietor of a luxury candle brand called Voyant by Danica.

In late 2015, the athlete spoke to Sports Illustrated about her potential retirement, and Patrick hinted that she’d continue to race professionally as long as she continued to have fun with it.

“As long as I’m enjoying it and have the ability to do well on track, which is part of what enjoying it is,” she stated at the time of her future plans. “If it’s not going well on track, it’s not fun. I’ve been fortunate enough to be successful on and off the track, and I’m in a position where it’s not as though I have to do what I do to get by in life. I do it because I love it. It’s a tremendous amount of work, don’t get me wrong, but I do it because I love it. At a point in time when I would rather be doing something else, then that’s just what I’ll do.”

In honor of Patrick’s success as an athlete and beyond, we’re throwing it back to five of our favorite photos from her SI Swimsuit photoshoot from 15 years ago.

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Cara O’Bleness

CARA O’BLENESS

Cara is a trending news writer/editor for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. A passionate writer and editor with more than 10 years of experience in print and online media, she loves storytelling and believes that words have the power to change the world. Prior to joining the team, Cara worked as a writer and editor across a number of content verticals, including food, lifestyle, health and wellness, and small business and entrepreneurship. In her free time, Cara loves reading, spending time with her family and making her way through Michigan’s many microbreweries. She is a graduate of Michigan State University's School of Journalism.