Danica Patrick makes history

Posted on April 20, 2008 - 2:22am by loretta Danica Patrick, IndyCar's sexiest driver, has made it into the record books. Danica came in first at the Indy Japan 300 on Sunday April 20th.  She is the first woman to ever win a major auto race on a closed-circuit course.

Danica began her career in go-cart racing in 1992 and at the age of 16 moved to England and switched her focus to mainly road racing.  She became well known for finishing in second place at the Formula Ford Festival, England's most competitive race, which was the highest ever finish for a woman or an American.

In 2005 Patrick officially announced that she would be driving in the IRL IndyCar Series.  She became the fourth woman in history to qualify for the Indy 500. She placed fourth in the race and was named Rookie of the Year for both the Indy 500 and the IndyCar Series.

After her first place finish on Sunday she made a tearful speech saying, "Finally. This is a long time coming. It was a fuel strategy race, but my team called it perfectly for me.  I know I was on the same strategy as Helio and when I passed him for the lead I couldn't believe it. This is fabulous."

Danica fans have been waiting a long time for this win and Patrick has always been a top contender. "I've been asked so many times when I'm going to win my first race, and finally, no more of those questions," said Danica. You could just hear the relief in her voice. Congratulations Danica may this be the first of many victories!