Danica Patrick was the first woman to win an Indy Racing League race with her victory at the 2008 Indy Japan 300. Despite not winning a race since then, she is a household word in the United States. Fast becoming the female equivalent of Michael Jordan, Patrick features prominently in sexually titillating commercials for her car sponsor, Godaddy.com, along with countless media appearances. Is she a race car driver or celebrity? Or both? Douglas Kellner writes that media spectacle provides a fertile ground for understanding contemporary culture and society, including problematics of race, gender, and class.  Patrick is not only spectacle but spectacle within the male-dominated sport of auto racing; does she offer the potential to disrupt hegemonic masculinity? In today’s media-saturated, patriarchal society, must she, as a female driver, become spectacle in order to be considered a viable competitor? Is Danica the spectacle undermining her legitimacy as a driver?