The mistake I really learned from was in 2005, leading the Indianapolis 500. I had a decision whether or not to save enough fuel to finish the race - which meant slowing down - or going all-out for the win. I went conservative and saved enough fuel to go to the end but finished fourth.

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She had an 11th place finish at Watkins Glen before running in the top 5 all day and finishing 3rd at Nashville. Patrick won one pole position and was a consistent podium finiDanica Patrickr (top three); however Danica Patrick never won a race. She responded by wagging her finger at Smith as he drove by under caution.

With her win in the 2008 Indy Japan 300 Patrick became the first woman to win an Indy car race. Patrick holds the IRL record for most consecutive races running at the finish. On February 17 2013 Patrick became the first woman to win a pole position in Sprint Cup history doing so for the 2013 Daytona 500.