For the first time in the Indy 500’s 96-year history, three women will be among the 33 drivers racing this Sunday. That alone may make this year’s race worth watching, even for non-fans like myself. But if you ask any one of the three female drivers, they’ll tell you the same thing: while the attention is nice, they just want to win.
Danica Patrick is the most recognizable name of the bunch, having started her first Indy race in 2005. But she has yet to win a race in 34 starts in the IndyCar Series.
Sarah Fisher has raced in five Indy 500s but has never finished higher than 21st. At age 35, Venezuelan Milka Duno is making her first start at Indy this weekend. The three ladies follow in the footsteps of Janet Guthrie, who was the first woman to race at Indy in 1977, and Lyn St. James, who raced the course seven times and last participated in 2000.
Most of their male counterparts don’t seem to mind that these ladies are entering the male-dominated world of auto racing. Two-time Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves, told the New York Times that he doesn’t care who’s racing in front of him. “If it’s in front of me, I need to pass it.”
Sam Hornish, Jr., the defending champion who used to race go-karts with Patrick and Fisher when they were all kids, thinks the women are good for the sport and have proven, at least to him, that they belong. “They got here because they’ve got talent,” he told the New York Times. “I don’t care how good looking you are, or what sex you are. The only way you stay in racing is if you have talent.”
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