GoFuckYourself.com - Adult Webmaster Forum - Danica gets first IndyCar win

Seeing this story made me smile. I'm about 90 miles soutwest of the 500 track, and have went off and on for years. Never liked any of the other female drivers, but I do like Danica.

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Patrick races into history
Grabs lead with 3 laps to go, becomes first woman to win a major auto race

Danica Patrick made history Saturday as midnight struck.

Patrick became the first woman to win a major auto race by capturing the IndyCar Series' event at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit in Japan.

Patrick, led by a smart call by team manager Kyle Moyer, Monrovia, Ind., went the final 51 laps without a pit stop to become the surprise winner of the Indy Japan 300.

Patrick passed two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves three laps from the finish to take the lead as the front-runners pitted.

Patrick, Castroneves and Ed Carpenter had pitted five laps after the front-runners, including Scott Dixon, who dominated the second half of the race.

"It's a long time coming," Patrick said on ESPN's television broadcast. "Finally!"

After Dixon and others pitted, Moyer told Patrick that Castroneves was the only driver that could deny her, and she did the rest. Having saved a considerable amount of fuel in the final segment, she stood on the gas and blew past the Brazilian on the 198th lap.

"I knew he was the one to beat," Patrick said. "I was not going to make the mistake of not (going for it)."

Patrick, 26, was quickly greeted by her father, T.J., who has been with her throughout her career.

"This is the best day of my life," he said. "This is what I dreamed about."

Patrick was participating in her 50th IndyCar Series race. Until Saturday, she was best known for becoming the first woman to lead the Indianapolis 500.

The race flirted with temperatures too cold for the tires, and Marco Andretti paid the price, spinning into the wall in the first corner of the race.

One of Andretti?s teammates had a different sort of problem. Leaving pit road under caution, rookie Hideki Mutoh spun his car in front of the pace car, causing its driver, Johnny Rutherford, to swerve to avoid contact.

Vision Racing?s cars also had problems. A.J. Foyt IV?s crew released him from his pit box just as his teammate (Carpenter) was pulling into his. Foyt?s car suffered right front suspension damage; Carpenter lost considerable time to the leaders.

Marty Roth and Vitor Meira saw their races end with smacks against the outside wall.
Ryan Briscoe made contact with the wall for the third consecutive race, but he did not suffer major damage as he did at the Florida races in Homestead and St. Petersburg. But the contact on lap 179 knocked him out of the top three. He finished ninth.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dl...0107/804200393