Danica Patrick opened her passenger door after pulling up to the Warren Prescott K-8 School and sat there, listening to more than 500 elementary students chanting her name. Her eyes lit up and she couldn't help but smile.
On June 14, the NASCAR driver started her day at Warren Prescott K-8 School, took a student-led tour of the city on an authentic Boston trolley, rode a swan boat in Boston Common, and closed out her day with a stop at the iconic bar, Cheers. The New England visit came one month ahead of this weekend's Overton's 301 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race.
"This was such a cool day and a lot of fun to visit this area, which I always look forward to coming to every year," said Patrick, who drives the No. 10 for Stewart-Haas Racing. "This was a really great experience, spending time with these kids, checking out the historic places in Boston, and I even got to ride a swan boat. Not a bad day."
Patrick began her day amidst a chorus of 500-plus elementary students cheering "Da-ni-ca, Da-ni-ca!" The Warren Prescott K-8 School welcomed the NASCAR pilot with a student-led song, "Best Day of Our Life," and drumline. Patrick thanked the students, who gave her a T-shirt to commemorate the day. She reciprocated by giving every student in the school tickets to see her race in the Overton's 301.
"All of the kids chanting my name when I walked in was something I won't forget," Patrick said. "I couldn't believe all of the kids that were out there and cheering me on. There's thousands of fans that come to our race weekends, but these hundreds of kids come pretty close to being just as loud."
"This is just amazing and means so much to the students here," said Michele Davis, the principal at Warren Prescott. "This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and something these kids will never forget. What a day."
Patrick, eight girls from the school, and the speedway's social media winner (a six-year old girl from Topsfield, Mass.) then boarded a Boston trolley, decked out with New Hampshire Motor Speedway logos and graphics. The students gave four different presentations to Patrick about the history of the city while aboard the trolley. The trolley also made stops at Bunker Hill, the Samuel Adams statue behind Fanueil Hall, and Boston Common, where she rode a swan boat with the students.
Patrick closed out her day with a stop at Cheers, where she conducted media interviews and filmed a spot for the speedway's social media team loosely based off the hit TV show, "Cheers". David McGrath, the speedway's vice president and general manager and a native of Marlborough, Mass., played the role of bartender in the shoot, hitting the Boston accent spot-on. His acting, on the other hand …
"That was a lot of fun, but Danica put my acting to shame - she did a perfect job delivering her lines," joked McGrath. "We were very grateful to have Danica with us today. She is a tremendous role model for young women, a wonderful ambassador for this sport, and we look forward to having her back for the Overton's 301."
