Athletes

Driving for Rahal Letterman Racing, Patrick placed fourth in Denver (Round 10) in August 2004, at the Toyota Championship Series. She also captured the Argent Fast Lap Award for posting the fastest race lap en route to a fourth-place finish. In September 2004, she finished third in the Toyota Atlantic Championships with 269 points and 10 top-five results in 12 races in Argent Mortgage Toyota Swift. In December 2004, she was announced as the driver of car #16 Argent/Pioneer Honda for Rahal Letterman's IndyCar series program. She made her IndyCar Series debut in March 2005, qualifying ninth and finishing 15th. In April 2005, she qualified second and finished fourth at the Twin Ring Motegi in Japan. In May 2005, Patrick became the fourth woman to race in the Indianapolis 500 and captured the Indy 500 Rookie of the Year honors after becoming the highest qualifying female in the history of this race. She became the first female driver to lead the race (19 laps overall) and broke Janet Guthrie's record for highest finish by a female by placing fourth. In July 2005, Patrick won her first IndyCar Series pole position, leading a 1,2,3 sweep by Rahal-Letterman Racing at Kansas Speedway and becoming the second woman to capture a pole position in the IndyCar Series.