NASCAR Legend Felt 'Heaven For A Second' After Worst Car Crash

A former NASCAR superstar had been through a handful of life-changing events.

Danica Patrick is widely regarded as the most celebrated woman in the history of American motorsports.

However, she was mostly remembered by many for the numerous car crashes she has had over the course of her professional career.

In a recent appearance on National Geographic’s “ Running Wild With Bear Grylls,” Patrick vividly recalled the “worst” car accident she had ever endured.

According to the Wisconsin native, it happened during an Indy race some few years ago. The said crash was so serious that Patrick actually thought she “was in heaven for a second.”

“I was down low on the bottom of the track and a car was falling down the track and clipped my right rear as I went by,” Patrick remembered. “It shot me up into the wall. I hit at like almost 150 Gs, started a fire a little bit, spun, went down to the bottom of the track.”

“I woke up [in a medical center] to the Indy Car pastor bringing his head over on top of me, asking some questions and I was like ‘what’s going on?’,” she continued. “And my mom was there and she was like ‘it’s okay honey, you just had a little accident.’ [I was like] ‘Little accident?’ I thought I was in heaven for a second.”

Patrick was fortunate enough to have survived all the car accidents she had gone through.

Unsurprisingly, the 39-year-old was prompt to put an end to both her NASCAR and IndyCar tenures because of accidents as well.

At the 2018 Daytona 500, Patrick’s car got involved in a seven-car wreck. To everybody’s surprise, she didn’t incur any serious injuries.

A few months later, the 2008 Indy Japan 300 winner once again crashed her car into the outside wall at the Indianapolis 500. She also managed to walk away safely.

Since then, Patrick never went behind the wheel again.

Aside from career devastations, Patrick also hit rock bottom in her love life.

It can be recalled that Patrick and NFL star Aaron Rodgers had a tough breakup last year. For the NASCAR legend, it was one of the darkest moments of her life.

“I think we learn the most about ourselves through relationships, but there’s nothing like heartbreak to really throw you in the deep end of that,” she pointed out. “But I’ve learned a lot and as broken open as I was on the sad end, I have felt so much joy in so many more instances and so many more unlikely places than I ever have, so it’s like my heart got broken open to both ends of the spectrum.”