It had to happen sometime

To be able to compete at the top division on any sport is quite an accomplishment, to win at that level is something else. It takes talent, hard work and a bit of luck here and there also. The girl is good give her some credit. Congrats to Danica and I hope she wins many more!

Slick:

Kournakova comparison, no, that doesn't make much sense.  Anna Kournakova was a woman playing against women in a sport where women win grand slams, etc.

Did you miss the part that she is the first woman to win an open wheel race???  And your right, if this was a man, we wouldn't be talking aout it, but it's not a man, it's a woman....

Are you implying that is an accomplishment?

Until this season, most races started only 18 cars.  That is the equivalent of finsihing in the top 25 of 50% of your NASCAR races (where they start 43)?  Odds are that with those statistics, you aren't driving anymore.

"Danica Patrick became the first female winner in IndyCar history Sunday, taking the Indy Japan 300 after the top contenders were forced to pit for fuel in the final laps."

How does this read to the layman? Danica didn't earn it, and she surely wasn't a top contender, because the "top contenders" pitted and she was still out there. Lucky break...

Excuse me? She's a top contender, with top tens and poles to her credit. And to be clear, not all OTHER top contenders pitted. She was racing Helio the whole time, and passed him with 2 laps to go. She and her team played strategy AND she outraced a multi-time Indy champ at the end. Winning because the leader has to pit is a part of racing. Great drivers win this way in all series. Yet when Danica wins this way, the accomplishment is diminished in the eyes of the unnamed AP hack racing reporter.

I hope that this one line from the AP clarifies why this is a big deal in racing. Because it is a sport dominated by men on the track and in the press, where they do everything they can to diminish the accomplishment of women. And now, no matter what the writers and pundits and fans say, they can't take this win away from Danica.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!  You're whining almost as much as she does.

Funny thing is that AP paragraph is the TRUTH.

She, for the most part, in sixth or seventh the entire race.  Her race strategist made a great call and got the team the win.  She did not outrun Kanaan, Wheldon and Dixon.  I also don't think she would have passed Carpenter.  I can't understand why thier gas mileage was so poor on that last run.

Everything in sports is blown all out of proportion and If its not a big deal why did you even bother posting something about this story.

This was history and it does deserve being written about and talked about. I have read others saying she lucked out and won because the leaders had to pit ,did she not have to pit during the race. Last I checked stategy was a big part of all sports. She beat the odds by winning in a male dominated sport and my hat is off to her and wish her luck in the future which will be NASCAR so the good-ole-boys better look out she is comming.

 If you'd only take time to read my posts, Speed.

 If Michelle Wie looked like Patrick, everyone would still be busting one over her too.. As I said before, the Colorado Silver Bullets were real women athletes. Danica Patrick is a woman driver who has one 1 single race in her 2-3 year career.

She's caught the Kornikova syndrome.

 The overhype of a mediocre driver because she is a female. Please don't taint the sports with that. The NBA was smart enough to eliminate the threat of bias by making a women's version.

 How many people remember who finishes 2nd?? Nobody.

 The only reason you know where SHE finishes is because she's some too hot to trot female turning heads on the racetrack, and not with her driving (unless she's crying at someone after a wreck).

 It's unfair bias because you men fans know she's hot. The same reason most men watched Anna Kournikova's tennis matches and bought the magazines with her on it. Do you think they were looking at her stats? I hardly think so.

 Call me a moron, and an idiot. Anything you want... I really don't care. Tell me that she finishes in the top 10 every year. Big whoop! Again, who remembers the failures?

 Sarah Fisher was the first woman to capture a pole position for a race... Nobody ever mentions that. Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have mentioned that she did that either since she was dog ugly. I know how you shallow, gullible fans want to cheer for your wet dream and leave out the logic and reality in this.

 The sex appeal finally won a race. Go ahead and continue the mockery of the sport by uplifting an average racer as if she was one of the greats. Then continue to give me 1 star ratings so I can laugh at those who've I offended with my opinion. haha