Danica Patrick defeated Helio Castroneves in Japan IndyCar 300 and she became the first woman ever to win such a race.

"Finally. This is a long time coming. It was a fuel strategy race, but my team called it perfectly for me," said Danica Patrick. "I know I was on the same strategy at Helio (Castroneves) and when I passed him for the lead, I couldn't believe it. This is fabulous." She won the race by finishing with 5.8594 seconds ahead Helio Castroneves.

The other three drivers that finished the race in Top 5 were Scott Dixon on the third place, Dan Wheldon on the fourth and Tony Kanaan on the fifth.

“She did a great job, passed me fair and square and that shows you how competitive our series is," said Castroneves.

Danica Patick gained eight places in just eleven laps. She was on the eight place on the 189^th lap, but she managed to passed Catroneves on lap 197.

"I think Danica is such a fantastic person and I'm thrilled for her that the monkey is finally off of her back," said Michael Andretti, co-owner of Andretti Green Racing, quoted by the Associated Press. "We have all believed in her and she proved today that she is a winner. Frankly, I think this is the first of many."

Born in 1982, Danica Patrick made her debut in the IRL IndyCar series in 2004 and the Saturday’s race was the 50th in her career.

In 2006, Danica Patrick signed her contract with Andretti Green Racing Team. Her first race with Andretti was last year at Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 24th. Unfortunately, she had an accident and finished on the 14th place.

Still, on September 2 2007 she managed to finish the second at The Race at the Belle Isle matching the record of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing driver Sarah Fisher for best finish in Indy Style racing by a female.

The win in Japan follows after an awesome 2008 season for Danica Patrick. She finished 6th at Homestead-Miami Speedway and scored the 10th place at Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.