Danica Patrick is first woman IndyCar winner with Japan victory

Patrick, who was running eighth with 10 laps to go at the 2.493-kilometer (1.549-mile) Twin Ring Motegi oval, went to the front of the pack when the leaders were forced to pit for fuel. The 26-year-old Wisconsin native passed Helio Castroneves with three laps remaining to win by 5.8594 seconds.

“Finally,” Patrick said in a statement issued by the Indy Racing League. “This is a long time coming. It was a fuel strategy race, but my team called it perfectly for me. This is fabulous.”

Patrick, in her fourth year in the IndyCar series, last year had a career-high second place finish in Detroit. She was named Rookie of the Year in 2005 and has been voted the league’s most-popular driver by fans for the past three seasons.

“I’m thrilled for her that the monkey is finally off of her back,” team owner Michael Andretti said in the statement. “We have all believed in her and she proved today that she is a winner. Frankly, I think this is the first of many.”

The race was delayed 22 hours after rain that had washed out qualifying caused water to seep from cracks in the track. Scott Dixon finished third in the race, which ended just before midnight New York time. Dan Wheldon was fourth and Tony Kanaan rounded out the top five.Dixon was leading by 1 second with 5 laps to go in the 200- lap event when he was forced to pit for fuel. The New Zealander had made a pit stop on lap 142 after a spin brought out a caution flag. Patrick stopped 6 laps later, giving her enough fuel to make it to the end. She passed Castroneves on the outside on lap 197.

The second-place showing keeps Castroneves in the lead for the IRL Championship, 12 points ahead of Dixon. Patrick is in third spot, followed by Kanaan and Wheldon.

The points could change after today’s Long Beach Grand Prix in California, the final race in the Champ Car World Series which merged with the IRL in February. Points from that race will count toward the IRL championship.