Danica Breaks the Barriers
Racing in her 50th career start in the IndySeries this past Sunday, Danica Patrick won the Indy Japan 300 for Andretti Green Racing, and in doing so, became the first female in IRL history to win a race. The race came down to a fuel strategy decision, and by staying out, she was able to move up to second place on lap 197 of the 200-lap race. On lap 198, she took the lead from polesitter Helio Castroneves and was on her way to a victory lap moments later.
Danica is certainly no stranger to the history books since the 26-year-old made her debut to professional racing back in 2005. That year she became the first female driver to lead a lap in the Indy 500 en route to her fourth place finish in that race, and last year she finished 7th overall in the points standings.
When asked about being the first female to win a race in the IndyCar Racing League, Danica said, “I’m glad it finally happened, but I would be lying if I told you I didn’t think it would be me.” She also stated that the best part about the victory was that she would no longer have to answer questions about when she would win her first race.
In Other News:
- Former Indy 500 winner and current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rookie, Sam Hornish Jr, has recently squashed rumors that he may be replaced by David Stremme at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May so that he can run in the 2008 Indy 500. Last Friday, Hornish said that it’s just not feasible for him to drive in both the Indy 500 and the Coca Cola 600 in the same weekend, and he reiterated his commitment to piloting the no. 77 car for Penske Racing and attempting to make his rookie season in NASCAR a success.
Related Stories
POSTED IN: NASCAR
4 opinions for Danica Breaks the Barriers
Charlie
Apr 21, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Danica has driven better races in her career and not won. The series probably owed her this one. It may or may not be her last in Indy cars. That series, with unification, just got alot tougher. The Japan race at Motegi was one of the last with a less than optimized field, as some good teams skipped it to run Long Beach. Good luck DP. If you win another, you are the real thing.
Women Charging on Cup Series’ Week Off
Apr 22, 2008 at 1:16 pm
[…] a pure incident of coincidental timing, just days before Danica broke down the barriers for females in racing, Chrissy Wallace inked a deal with Germain Racing that will have her […]
Adam C
Apr 22, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Charlie, I think your right. She has to win more races to be considered prime time in my eyes!
Tim Zaegel
Apr 23, 2008 at 8:56 pm
Charlie, I’m confident that Danica will win a few more of these in due time. The first one’s always the toughest.
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: