Darron Cummings / AP

On Sunday, Danica Patrick became the first woman ever to lead a lap at the Indy 500.

In the pits, Patrick’s mother buried her face in her hands when she realized her daughter wouldn’t win the Indy 500 on her first try. But Danica sounded absolutely elated after she took the checkered flag.

“With all the shhh — I mean, the stuff that happened, I’m so happy for you guys. Way to go,” she radioed to her crew. “We were so close to winning that race. Woooo, hoooo!”

Talk show icon David Letterman, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Racing, watched the race from the pits. He won the 500 last year with Buddy Rice, and he certainly feels like he’s got a future winner in Patrick.

“I don’t know how she did it,” Letterman said. “Boy, she’s not 23 years old. She’s no kid. I don’t know how you have all that misfortune befall you and still come back to almost win the race.”

The Indy 500 has dipped in popularity over the last decade, harmed by a split in open-wheel racing and NASCAR’s surging popularity. Now, the sport’s most venerable race has someone it can market beyond its hard-core fan base — a talented driver who stands apart with her flowing black hair and photogenic looks.

Patrick doesn’t get caught up in her impact on the male-dominated sport, saying it “sounds so goober.” But the fourth woman to race at Indy sure proved she’s capable of racing with the men.

“I made a hell of a point for anybody,” Patrick said. “I came through the pack twice.”

She did much better than the women who came before at Indy. Janet Guthrie’s best finish in three races was ninth in 1978. Lyn St. James never finished higher than 11th in seven attempts. Sarah Fisher was at Indy five times, her best showing 21st.

Patrick has taken a major step toward shattering the gender barrier for good.

“To finish first would have been awesome, but she’ll be here many more times,” her mother said. “She’ll get it eventually.”