Danica Patrick took the checkered flag in the Indy Japan 300 on Sunday, becoming the first female winner in IndyCar history.
Patrick, 26, shifted up into second place behind pole-sitter Helio Castroneves when leader Scott Dixon was forced to pit for fuel with five laps remaining.
Danica Patrick poses with the championship trophy Sunday at Twin Ring Motegi.
(Shuji Kajiyama/Associated Press)
She later passed Castroneves to take the lead on lap 198 of 200, and, ultimately, finished 5.8594 seconds ahead of him for her first-ever IRL victory.
"It was a long time coming — finally," said Patrick, who drives for Andretti Green Racing.
"I was managing to save fuel and keep the speed up and, when I saw Helio, I knew he was the one to beat."
"With five laps to go, I was saving fuel," Castroneves said. "When Danica passed me, I realized she was the leader.
"She did a great job, passed me fair and square. That shows you how competitive our series is."
Dixon took the lead from Castroneves on the 93rd lap, but he settled for third.
"We led for a lot of laps but came up short," Dixon said. "But congratulations to Danica for her first victory."
Patrick, who started from the third row, made her final pit stop with 52 laps remaining.
"I knew there was a good reason for coming to Japan," she said. "I want to thank my team, the fans and everyone who supported me."
Patrick is competing in her fourth IRL campaign, having finished seventh overall in 2007.
She was the runner-up at Detroit last season and earned accolades for a fourth-place finish — even leading for 19 laps — in the Indy 500 as a rookie in 2005.
The Indy Japan 300 was scheduled to be held Saturday, but it pushed to Sunday because of rainy conditions at the 1.5-mile Twin Ring oval in Motegi, northeast of Tokyo.