Women Set to Race at Indy 500

The 92nd Indianapolis 500 starts later today, and for the second year in a row the field includes three women. Danica Patrick, making her 4th appearance on the track, will start in the 5th position. Sarah Fisher, in her 7th appearance, starts the race from the 22nd position, and in her second Indy 500 race, driver Milka Duno is in 27th position. (click image to enlarge)

Danica Patrick was named the Rookie of the Year for both the 2005 Indianapolis 500 and the 2005 IndyCar Series season. With her win in the 2008 Indy Japan 300, Danica became the first woman to win an Indy car race.

Sarah Fisher is best known for being the youngest woman to ever compete in the Indianapolis 500 as well as the first woman to win a pole position in a major auto racing series. Sarah was 19 when she competed for the first time, and was the third woman to compete in the Indy 500 behind Janet Guthrie and Lyn St. James. Earlier in the month Sarah had a special visitor at the track, when presidential candidate Hillary Clinton stopped by to wish Sarah good luck.

When Milka Duno passed her IRL rookie test in 2007, and qualified for the race, it marked the first time three women were included in the 33-car field. It proved to be a challenging year for Milka, but she is back racing again at Indy.

Good luck to all of them and let's hope for a safe race day!