First lady of IndyCar storms to maiden victory!

You’ll find no crass, cliched jokes about lady drivers here (although feel free to send them in – we couldn’t think of any). No, Grid Crasher can only salute the achievement of Danica Patrick, who on Sunday became the first woman to win an IndyCar event – the Japan 300 at Motegi. Patrick finished 5.85 seconds ahead of Helio Castroneves after taking the lead late in the race, when the drivers in front of her – Scott Dixon, Dan Wheldon and Tony Kanaan – were all forced to pit. “It’s been a long time coming,” a tearful Patrick said after the race. “Finally.”

Patrick has been racing in IndyCar since 2005 and has racked up a half-century of races. Few observers doubted that she had the talent to win a race, and her Andretti Green car has looked strong so far this season – it was a case of when, not if she would break her duck.

Holy Godzilla, Batman, just check out the size of that trophy! It’s almost as tall as her (she’s only 5ft 2in). Let’s hope she didn’t have to quaff champagne from that.

This result is clearly great news for IndyCar, a sport that has been blighted by politics and in-fighting for decades. Patrick is now the hottest property in U.S. motor racing, and for the right reasons.