April 20, 2008 - Move over boys! Danica Patrick scored her long-awaited first IndyCar series victory and became the first female winner in IndyCar history by taking the Japan 300 on Sunday. Danica finished 5.8594 seconds ahead of pole-sitter Helio “Twinkle Toes” Castroneves on the 1.5-mile Twin Ring Motegi oval.
“It’s a long time coming. Finally,” Danica said tearfully. “It was a fuel strategy race, but my team called it perfectly for me. I knew I was on the same strategy as Helio and when I passed him for the lead, I couldn’t believe it. This is fabulous.”
The 26-year-old Danica won in her 50th career IndyCar start, taking the lead from Castroneves on the 198th lap in the 200-lap race. Danica, who started from the third row and made her final pit stop on lap 148, stayed close to the leaders throughout the race.
The champagne on the winner’s podium must have tasted even sweeter for Danica, given recent rule changes in the Indy Racing League. With some drivers complaining her petite stature gave her an advantage–lighter cars can be quicker and use less fuel; the IRL amended its rules so that the minimum weight for the car must now include the driver. Many thought Danica’s hopes of winning a race had disappeared forever. But Danica proved the doubters wrong, doing an awesome job of conserving fuel for when it really mattered.
Her victory represents a zenith that the sport has been unable to reach for quite some time and hopefully it won’t be too long before she notches another top podium finish. This is exactly what the IRL has been waiting for since Danica exploded into the mainstream at Indy in 2005.
Her tears increased when she met up with her parents and husband as she got out of the car. “That was clearly girlie of me,” she said with a smile.
With Danica finally able to put one in the win column, she has run OVER the monkey that was on her back. One thing is for sure: she won’t have to answer those pesky questions about if she’s ever going to win anymore. Well done Danica, well done!!
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3 Responses to “The First Time: Danica makes history with victory”
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you go girl. anyone that says danica doesn’t no how to drive is crazy! for now on, it’s ladies first!
Amazing moment! I’m sooo happy for Danica. I can’t imagine what it must of felt like to win it.
[…] Patrick made Indy Racing League history last weekend by becoming the first woman in the series to win a race and now, the Illinois native has her own day to […]