Popular racer Danica Patrick won the Japan 300 on April 20 and made history as the first woman ever to win an IndyCar race. She finished 5.8594 seconds ahead of pole-sitter Helio Castroneves after taking the lead from him in the 198th lap of the 200-lap race.
Patrick, named Rookie of the Year in 2005, has finished strongly at several Indy races, but critics challenged the hype around the 26-year-old because she had never won an IndyCar race. The Japan 300 was her 50th career start, and finally the win she needed to exhaust her critics.
