Another milestone in the evolution of women in sports occurred over the weekend when Danica Patrick became the first woman to win an open-wheel (Indy Racing League, CART or Formula 1) race: the Indy Japan 300.

She had a second-place finish last year and, in 2005, became the first woman to lead the Indy 500 before finishing fourth.

Her triumph in her 50th race was a testament to her perseverance, resiliency and ability.

It was also a just reward for someone who singlehandedly put a sport back on the map.

With the exception of the Indy 500, open-wheel racing is a sport with a small following.

It is to auto racing what hockey is to the other major sports (football, baseball, basketball): an after-thought.

Open-wheel racing and hockey have some similarities.

The primary one is they are hard to follow on television and, as a result, get poor ratings.

Viewers have trouble following the puck and even more trouble differentiating the cars in open-wheel racing. They are going more than 200 mph and they all look the same.

It’s difficult to follow your favorite driver if you can’t find him or her.

And nobody can really identify with the stars because nobody has heard of any of them other than the ones who win the Indy 500.

Helio Castroneves has won the Indy 500, but he got a lot more media attention when he teamed with Julianne Hough to win Dancing With the Stars.

People know who Dario Franchitti is more because he is married to actress Ashley Judd than because he won the Indy 500 last year.

Now Franchitti is racing in the Sprint Cup series.

IRL and CART are victims of the NASCAR boom.

Everybody knows who Dale Earnhardt Jr. is.

The top IRL and CART drivers are foreign-born while at least 90 percent of the Sprint Cup drivers are Americans.

The open-wheel cars were also damaged when they split into two series in the mid-1990s. There would only be 18-20 cars in each race compared to the 43 that take the green flag for the start of a Sprint Cup race.

IRL and CART have finally patched up their differences and are in the process of re-uniting.

Patrick burst onto the scene and called attention to the IRL with her provocative spread in FHM magazine. She was also featured in this year’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue.

And she has made the talk show rounds, touting the IRL.

But she also gave you the sense that she was determined to win. She wasn’t just going to be another pretty face who tried to conquer a sport dominated by men only to fall by the wayside.

The question is what’s next for Patrick?

I’m sure there will be other wins.

She has talent and is with a good team (Andretti-Green Racing) that will give her the cars and equipment to win.

Even though the merging of the IRL and CART will make the series much more competitive and appealing, it will never compete with Sprint Cup.

That’s why you can expect to see Patrick try Sprint Cup racing someday.

It is the pinnacle of auto racing in America and she thrives on challenges.

Having prominent open-wheel drivers like Juan Montoya, Franchitti and Sam Hornish Jr. come over to Sprint Cup is a positive development.

They will attract a new group of fans, a more culturally diverse group.

Montoya, in winning Rookie of the Year honors last year, certainly increased the number of Latino fans.

lmahoney@bangordailynews.net

990-8231