First woman to win Indy race challenges male dominance

On April 20, Danica Patrick won the Indy Japan 300, becoming the first woman ever to win an Indy car race. The 26-year-old Patrick accomplished this despite the Indy Racing League’s attempts to maintain male dominance in the sport by implementing new weight regulations.

Patrick, weighing only 100 pounds, is the lightest driver in the IRL and is one of only 10 women since 1976 to compete in the sport.

In response to complaints from male competitors, the IRL implemented new weight-balancing regulations beginning at the start of the season on March 6. The rule divides drivers into weight categories: The heaviest drivers have weight removed from their cars, the lightest have weight added.

“If someone’s going to take the hit, it’s going to be me,” Patrick said. “In so many other sports, athletes don’t get penalized for being too strong, or too tall or too fast.”