IMS remembers Danica Patrick's historic run as first woman to lead Indy 500

Danica Patrick changed the female motorsport scene with her debut in the 2005 IndyCar season. Moreover, her debut season had no shortage of shocking results as on May 29, 2005, the Wisconsin-born driver made her Indy 500 debut and led the race to become the first woman to have achieved this feat.

Bobby Rahal had expressed his support for Patrick in 2004 and promised her an entry to the elusive racing event for the 89th running of the Indy 500. The rookie driver stunned the paddock by qualifying fourth on her debut, sending a message to the grid that she was there to fight.

During the raceday, on lap 56, the then Rahal Letterman Racing driver led her first lap of the fabled race and became the first-ever woman to do so. Later in the race, she led 18 more laps for a total of 19 laps led on her maiden Indy 500 start.

To celebrate this achievement, Indianapolis Motor Speedway posted a message on X (formerly Twitter) and wrote:

"P1 for a historic 19 laps. 20 years ago in her #Indy500 debut, @DanicaPatrick became the first woman to lead the race."

While Danica Patrick's No.16 car made history on May 29, 2005, she gave her thoughts on the same on the 99th anniversary of the Indy 500 in 2015.

---

Danica Patrick reflected on her Indy 500 debut on its 99th anniversary

Danica Patrick at the F1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix - Source: Getty

While the 42-year-old was not able to claim a win on her subsequent visits to the Indianapolis track, she still made a big impact in the racing realm. Danica Patrick went on to bag three poles during the same year of her Indy 500 debut.

Patrick also won her solitary Grand Prix at Motegi three years later and became an icon of the sport. Reflecting on her debut Indy 500 outing on its 99th anniversary in 2015, the former racer revealed what went down during the raceday and said (via IndyCar):

"I remember that I had pink nail polish on for rookie orientation. And I never wore nail polish but thought it’s no big deal, it’s just rookie orientation here. And it was a crazy scene. I was overwhelmed from a media perspective, I wasn’t used to that. It was just so sudden. But I remember being real calm and really grateful I was in a good position."

In the 2025 IndyCar racing scene, there are no female drivers on the grid. However, a myriad of female racers have made their way over to the junior series, Indy NXT.

So, there is a high chance that in the near future, a new female driver could join the IndyCar grid. Meanwhile, the next race of the 2025 season is scheduled to take place in California at the Thermal Club.