PATRICK’S KEY MOMENTS

FORMULA FORD BRANDS FESTIVAL, 2000

Patrick’s second-place finish at Brands Hatch might not have been in an Indycar or NASCAR race, but it would inform her career heavily. Admitting she was “hurt” by her time in England, it not only showed her single-seater ability but toughened her against adversity when she moved back Stateside.

INDYCAR, MOTEGI, 2008

Patrick became the first woman to win in a top-level American single-seater series with victory at Motegi. Granted, a combination of Penske driver Helio Castroneves’s baffling decision to ignore Tim Cindric’s strategy and good management from Andretti Autosport helped, but Patrick took her chance when the field pitted for fuel with two laps to go.

DAYTONA 500, 2013

Patrick took a gamble in switching to NASCAR from Indycar, as few drivers have made it work. In Indycar, she had driven for one of the series’ top teams at Andretti and was a regular top-10 finisher. But she started promisingly, with pole at the start of her first full NASCAR season at the 2013 Daytona 500. She led for five laps before falling to eighth.

NASCAR, ATLANTA, 2014

Patrick had not set the NASCAR world alight, with an average finish outside the top 20, at this stage of her top-level stock car career. But Atlanta would be the scene of her best Cup finish, with two timely cautions lifting her to fourth at the final restart with three laps to go, and she ended up sixth.

INDIANAPOLIS 500, 2009

The 2009 Indy 500 was the highlight of Patrick’s strongest Indycar season, when she finished fifth in the standings. Patrick’s strategy on fuel gave her the benefit of being in the chasing pack, but a late yellow meant she rose to finish third – and Patrick believed she could have fought with winner Helio Castroneves and Dan Wheldon for the victory.