Danica Patrick becomes the first woman to win a race in the Indy Racing
League (IRL).

 TOKYO, JAPAN (APRIL 20, 2008)

American Danica Patrick became the first woman to win a race in the
Indy Racing League (IRL) on Sunday (April 20), powering to victory in the Indy
Japan 300 race.
    The 26-year-old won by almost six seconds from Brazilian Helio
Castroneves after the race favourites were forced to pit for fuel in the
closing laps at Motegi's Twin Ring Circuit.
    "It's been a long time coming -- finally," Patrick told
reporters. "This is fabulous. 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. My sex has got nothing to do with it. I
believed in myself as a driver."
    For the second year in a row, there was an early crash as Marco
Andretti spun off on lap one. The 19-year old American is the son of 1991
IndyCar champion Michael Andretti and the grandson of motor racing legend
Mario Andretti.
    Leader Scott Dixon pitted with five laps to go and Dan Wheldon and Tony
Kanaan came in a lap later. Patrick subsequently took the lead from
championship leader Castroneves with two of the 200 laps left.
    New Zealander Dixon finished third with Briton Wheldon settling for
fourth in the third race of the IRL series.
    Local favourites Hideki Muto and Roger Yasukawa finished 11th and  27)
goes off track as he avoids pace car coming out of pits alongside Tony Kanaan,
he finally finished 11th and 14th respectively.
    Muto clipped the wall after exiting the pits on on lap 48 of the 200
lap race. The Japanese driver finished a lap down on the winner.
    A brake fire forced Japanese-American Yasukawa out on lap 134.
    "I can't say the last stint was exactly hard," Patrick said.
"I was taking it easy and going fast but still trying to save fuel.
    "All I had to beat was Helio and I knew I had been saving fuel
earlier in the stint. I didn't want to make the mistake of not trying harder
to get by him."
    Patrick had been dubbed the Anna Kournikova of IndyCar but victory in
her 50th start will end comparisons with the Russian pin-up, who quit tennis
without a singles title to her name.
    "I'm thrilled for her that the monkey is finally off of her
back," said Michael Andretti, co-owner of Andretti Green Racing.
    "I think this is the first of many. We have all believed in Danica
and she proved today that she is a winner."
    Less than 24 hours after Patrick's round three win in Motegi, Will
Power won round four of the 16-round series as a completely different line-up
of IndyCar drivers raced at Long Beach, California.
    After four rounds of the series Castroneves leads the standings with
112 points, 12 ahead of Dixon and 14 ahead of third-placed Patrick.