Patrick set for debut as IRL IndyCar Series' lone woman

0 Comments | USA TODAY, March, 2005 | by Amy Rosewater

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- The night before Danica Patrick took her first spin in an Indy car, she barely slept.

"I woke up about every 20 minutes," Patrick said. "I realized there's no joking anymore."

No longer in racing's backdrop, Patrick will make her IRL IndyCar Series debut this weekend at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in the Toyota Indy 300. Patrick, who turns 23 on March 25, is the only woman in the IRL's top series this season and only the third ever to drive in an IRL race.

Patrick is driving for Rahal Letterman Racing, co-owned by former Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal and late-night TV host David Letterman.

She joined the team in 2002 and competed in the Toyota Atlantic series, a steppingstone circuit for open-wheel drivers. Last season she...