American rapper Eminem, famous for his diss tracks, once started a beef with one of motorsports’ most prominent women, former NASCAR and IndyCar star Danica Patrick.
In 2013, Patrick wasn’t just a racing icon; she was and still is one of the most recognizable names in motorsports history. As the first woman to win an IndyCar Series race and the first to start from pole position at the Daytona 500, Patrick broke barriers in both open-wheel and stock car racing.
Her presence brought a new segment of racing fans to the sport and expanded the conversation around gender in racing. She also brought extra media attention to NASCAR and earned huge endorsements.
On the other side of the spectrum was Eminem, the sharp-tongued rapper. A self-proclaimed fan of American motorsports, he frequently drew on racing imagery in his lyrics and public persona. But his appreciation for the sport didn’t always mean admiration for all its stars. And Patrick was among the ones he did not like, to say the least.
When Danica Patrick Became a Target in Eminem’s 2013 Album
In 2013, just as Patrick was rising in NASCAR, Eminem penned an unexpectedly brutal verse. In a song filled with wild metaphors, Eminem turned Patrick into one of his lyrical targets and sparked debate over whether it was just another punchline or something deeper.
On the track “So Far…” from his The Marshall Mathers LP 2, Eminem fired a sly shot at the former NASCAR and IndyCar driver.
He rapped, “I get to meet famous people, look at her dag. Her nylons are ran, her skirt’s snagged. And I heard she drag-races, *burp* swag. Tuck in my Hanes shirt tag. You’re Danica Patrick (Yeah?) word, skag. We’d be the perfect match, cause you’re a vacuum, I’m a dirtbag.”
The play on words implied that Patrick “sucks,” a brutal diss referencing her performance on the track, in a sport where she was very often scrutinized for not meeting expectations. The line “I heard she drag-races, burp, swag” further reduced her image to a punchline in a joke.
Though the diss wasn’t as direct or as aggressive as others Eminem has famously delivered, it had still positioned Patrick as the punchline to reinforce his own “dirtbag” image.
Whether meant to be playful or just petty, it added another layer to Eminem’s complex relationship with the racing world. He respected the sport but not necessarily all its stars.