Patrick answers skeptics

Danica Patrick shows off her trophy after her victory at the Indy Japan 300 made her the first woman to win an IndyCar race. (Associated Press)

Danica Patrick was always sure a woman could win a race. And now the questions about her will surely stop.

Patrick made it to the place she wanted to be for so long - Victory Lane. She became the first female winner in IndyCar history yesterday, capturing the Indy Japan 300 in her 50th career start.

"I'm glad it finally happened," she said. "But I would be lying if I told you I didn't think it would be me."

Her car owner was ecstatic, insisting more victories await. Her family could not congratulate her enough. All of which made Patrick a bit teary.

"When it actually happened, maybe it was a little anticlimactic," she said. "Then the emotions came out and that was a little girly of me."

And Patrick wasn't the only woman to win yesterday. In Long Beach, Calif., 19-year-old Simona De Silvestro won the Atlantics Championship season opener, joining Katherine Legge as the only female winners in the Champ Car developmental series.

Win No. 1 was a long time coming for Patrick. She finished a career-best seventh in the standings last year when her best finish was second in the race at Detroit's Belle Isle. Her first IndyCar race was in 2005 at Homestead-Miami.

"I'm thrilled for her that the monkey is finally off of her back," said Michael Andretti, co-owner of Andretti Green Racing. "We have all believed in her and she proved today that she is a winner."

At the 2005 Indy 500, Patrick, 26, nearly won the pole and became the first female driver to lead the race. She wound up fourth, the best finish by a woman at Indy and a result that helped her claim rookie of the year honors.

Yesterday's race in Motegi, which was delayed a day because of a wet track, was won by a combination of cool composure and shrewd strategy. Patrick took the lead from pole-sitter Helio Castroneves on the 198th lap in the 200-lap race.

"It was a fuel-strategy race, but my team called it perfectly for me," Patrick said. "I knew I was on the same strategy as Helio and when I passed him for the lead, I couldn't believe it."

De Silvestro, whose best previous finish in 12 Atlantic starts last year was seventh, took advantage of a mistake by pole-winner Jonathan Bomarito in the 38-lap event in Long Beach.

"Danica wins, I win, it's a perfect weekend," the Swiss driver said.

Champ Car - Will Power led most of the way on the streets of Long Beach, winning the final race of the series, the last remaining remnant of the 12-year open-wheel organization now unified with IRL. The race was run with Champ Car teams, drivers and equipment, but the points awarded were for the IRL's IndyCar Series.

Nationwide - Kyle Busch won his third consecutive race in the NASCAR series, holding off Marcos Ambrose by less than a second in the Corona Mexico 200.