Danica Patrick: Guts and Glory at the Indy 500

From Fox Sports:

Everywhere Danica Patrick goes at Indy, the crowds follow.

Some might be curious after seeing her red-hot photo shoots in magazines like FHM, but others might be hoping to catch a glimpse of the woman who could make history at the Indianapolis 500 this year as the first female winner of the 94-year-old race.

Just a rookie this year, the 23-year-old Patrick has been among the fastest drivers since practice began for the May 29 race. She qualified fourth and lost her shot at the pole only because of a bobble on the first turn of the first of four qualifying laps.

And the first woman to run in the Indianapolis 500 believes Patrick can be this year's champion.

"All the ingredients are in place," said Janet Guthrie, who caused a wave of interest nationally when she drove in the 500 for the first time in 1977, starting 26th and finishing 29th. "Danica is the first woman to arrive at the Speedway with top-notch equipment and the full backing of a winning team. And she has the talent and determination to make the most of her opportunity. Despite her inexperience at Indianapolis, there's no reason Danica can't win if she gets the right breaks on race day."

UPDATE (30-May-2005 14:00EDT): From the New York Times, here's the outcome of yesterday's riveting Indy 500, in which Danica Patrick electrified audiences with a truly gutsy performance:

Danica Patrick, a 23-year-old rookie who does not drive like one, rocketed into the lead with 10 laps left Sunday in the 89th Indianapolis 500, chasing away earlier misfortune and storming toward a first with each left-hand turn.

No woman had ever led the race, let alone won it. About 300,000 fans at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway clapped, pumped their fists and screamed, urging Patrick to hang on. She would have loved to, she said, but she also had to save fuel merely to finish the race.

Forced to conserve fuel because of a gamble by her team that she could make it to the end without an additional pit stop, Patrick was passed with six laps left by Dan Wheldon, a 26-year-old Briton who held on for his first Indy 500 victory. Patrick faded and finished fourth, behind Vitor Meira and Bryan Herta. [...]

She fell to 16th from 4th when she stalled her engine after a pit stop on the 79th lap of the 200-lap race, then spent the next 70 laps climbing back into the top 10.

"I'm going to be mad at myself for the stall," she said. [...]

Patrick had a close call on Lap 132, clipping wheels with Kosuke Matsuura. Later, as the field reached race speed after a caution period, Patrick made a mistake, abruptly lifting her foot off the gas pedal on the 155th lap to avoid hitting a car driven by Scott Sharp.

Her car went into a spin and had its left front wing knocked off. Her crew replaced the wing.

"I can't believe that my car didn't completely demolish because I got hit, like, twice," she said. "I spun it around, and I can't believe I kept the engine running. Somebody is sitting by my side."