A thrilling last lap pass at Madera Speedway put Hailie Deegan back in victory lane. Deegan was emotional in victory lane, as it was her first victory in the ARCA Menards Series West since 2019.
Deegan has made an impact in the West Series and is one of several women competing competitively across ARCA. In the ARCA Menards Series, Isabella Robusto has recorded three top-five finishes this season and now holds the record for the most top-five finishes by a woman in the series. Lanie Buice has five top-five finishes in five races, while Taylor Reimer has three top-five finishes in seven starts. Their success shows a growing presence of women in racing.
Today, we’re turning back the clock to an OG, a true trailblazer for women in motorsports: Danica Patrick. While her stock car career didn’t unfold the way many had hoped, Patrick burst onto the NTT IndyCar Series scene as a rookie and immediately made people take notice. Her run at the Indy 500 turned heads, from qualifying all the way through race day. Here’s a look back at the rookie who arrived on the biggest stage and made an immediate impression.
Before her breakout at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Patrick made serious moves to advance her racing career, including dropping out of high school and moving to England to gain more experience in open-wheel racing. She eventually was noticed by Bobby Rahal who put her on a journey that started with Barber Pro Series and then to the Toyota Atlantic Series. Her early success opened the door to her opportunity in IndyCar.
Speaking to IndyCar.com in 2015, Rahal described Patrick’s opportunity as a golden one, stating, “She walked into a really great situation… where all she had to do was drive the car around and not worry about setups or what have you, and just get track time.” In addition to this advantage, joining Team Rahal paired her with established veterans Vitor Meira and Buddy Rice, who became her teammates.
Along with Danica’s debut in IndyCar came the debut of a new qualifying format. Instead of qualifying over two consecutive days, the process was stretched across two weekends. The first on-track action began with rookie orientation, and Patrick was scheduled to be the first driver to take the track.
She opened her rookie test with a splash, turning a lap at 221.463 mph, the fastest speed of the session. It was an impressive first run for Patrick, but she was only getting warmed up.
On the final day of practice, Patrick turned a lap at 229.880 mph, becoming the first woman to turn a lap at The Brickyard at more than 229 mph. Her time topped the field, edging Dario Franchitti, who recorded a 229.443-mph lap. Patrick and Franchitti were the only drivers to break the 229-mph mark during practice.
Qualifying did not go as smoothly as practice. On her first lap, on the first turn, she lost control of the car for just a split-second. The bobble made her post a lap time of 224.920, much slower than her other laps which were all in the 227s. The first lap hurt her overall four lap average and cost her the pole.
Patrick still had plenty to look forward to, as she started the race from fourth. Her stellar practice runs and strong starting position provided plenty of reason for optimism and excitement. Pre-race coverage and the broadcast throughout the race placed the spotlight on Danica.
On race day, the hype surrounding Patrick was significant, and it was justified. She possessed the speed she had shown earlier in the month and maintained fourth place until a pit stop on lap 79. During the stop, she stalled in the pits, causing her to fall to 16th.
Patrick spent 70 laps fighting her way back into contention, but an incident with Thomas Enge on lap 155 nearly ended her day. Her car suffered damage, but she went to the pits to have it repaired. The decision to pit put her on an alternate strategy from the leaders.
This mix-up in strategy created an opportunity and by lap 172 Patrick drove to the lead, passing eventual winner Dan Wheldon. Her debut IndyCar drive was one for the history books, and she became the first woman to lead a lap during the Indy 500.
Patrick was passed by Wheldon just before the yellow flag came out on lap 190. On the restart, she briefly took the lead, much to the elation of the crowd, but Wheldon passed her back and drove to the win. Patrick settled for a fourth-place finish, the highest finish for a woman in Indy 500 history. She bested this mark in 2009 with a third-place finish.
Although Patrick’s feat was historic in 2005, she downplayed the achievement in her postrace interview with ABC Sports, saying that becoming the first woman to lead the Indianapolis 500 simply meant she was “another lap closer to winning the thing.”
She undersold the significance of the moment, but it is difficult to overstate the impact she had on women in motorsports. Today, women are competing in ARCA for Nitro Motorsports and Pinnacle Racing Group, two of the biggest teams at the developmental level of the sport. The future looks bright for the many young women pursuing careers in motorsports.
Deegan’s victory this past weekend was made possible in part by those who came before her and helped pave the way. Among those trailblazers, few have made as significant an impact on women in motorsports as Patrick.
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