Danica Patrick wins Indy Japan 300
Today, Danica Patrick became the first woman to win an IndyCar race in the history of the sport by winning the Indy Japan 300 presented by Firestone. While in no way do I call myself a race fan, I am a fan of people making history in things that they dedicate their lives to doing and this is a historic event that will never happen again.
The win is not only big because it is a win, but it came on Patrick’s 50th race, almost three years after she was named Rookie of the Year in 2005. For a while now, we’ve heard about Danica being the first woman to take the lead in a race, then heard about her getting second. She’s always been a top-tier driver, but she hadn’t yet won.
Fifty races and a lot of discussion as to whether she’s overhyped, despite the fact that she continued to race well throughout her relatively short career, Danica Patrick has won her first race and gotten that monkey off her back and made history in the process.
Huge, huge congratulations to Danica Patrick and her team for doing something that will never been done “first” ever again, as that’s the beauty of being a trailblazer in anything. While I don’t think Danica Patrick ever had to prove her legitimacy in the sport, it’s nice to know that it will never be needlessly questioned as Patrick continues her already history-making career.
I’m confused… I thought they had set some sort of weight minimum so Danica couldn’t race anymore because the guys were upset she was so much lighter than them and thought it was giving her an advantage… or was that nixed?