She stands all of 5-foot, 2-inches tall and weighs only 100 pounds, but don?t let her diminutive size fool you. You see, inside her small frame beats the heart of a competitor the likes of which the IRL IndyCar circuit has not seen in a long time.

With fans standing and cheering, rookie driver Danica Patrick, racing in only her fifth IRL IndyCar Series race, ran short on fuel with only eight laps to go in the 89th running of Indianapolis 500 this past Sunday afternoon, and finished fourth behind race winner Dan Wheldon.

With her fourth place finish, Patrick not only became the first woman to lead a lap at the Indy 500 (she eventually led 19 laps), but hers was the best finish for a woman in the history of the race as well. The previous best was a ninth place finish by Janet Guthrie in 1974.

"I made a (heck) of a point for everybody," said Patrick according to SportsTicker.com. "I came from the back of the pack twice. It (stinks) back there. I was so much more content running up front. But I think (coming from the back) showed the most (about me) today."

Her driving surely did show a lot about Patrick's character. However, even more important than her finish is what she has done for the sport of IndyCar racing in just this one race. With her professional demeanor and media-friendly personality, she has helped reinvigorate a spot that has been desperately seeking to regain national attention.

The 23-year old Patrick, with her long, black-hair tied in a pony tail, bright smile and quick wit, had been the talk of Indy the entire month of May, as media and fans followed her every move. Ever the pro, she did her best not to let anyone down, as she accepted many interviews and other requests almost non-stop. Because of that, everyone began to wonder if it would start to detract from her concentration and preparation.

But, not Patrick. She knew what she was doing and every time she strapped herself into her car, she was able to just shut the world out and completely focus on her driving.

Oh, and drive she did...

She put everyone on notice that she was ?for real? almost immediately, as she not only ran some of the fastest times on the track during practice, but made a legitimate challenge for the prestigious pole position during qualifying. She came up just short of it, however, after making one minor slip in the first lap of her qualifying run and ended up starting in the inside of the second row in the fourth spot. It was the same position that Bobby Rahal, part owner along with TV host David Letterman of her Rahal-Letterman Race Team, had started from when he won the race in 1986.

Racing for the pole is one thing. The big question was how would she do in the race. She answered that the moment retired Indiana Pacer Reggie Miller waved the green flag to start the race, as she roared down the straight into the first turn and took possession of fourth place.

She continued to run solidly through the first part of the race, then moved into third place at the 20 lap mark. When the race leaders headed for the pits at lap 56, she stayed out on the track to become the first woman to lead the Indy 500 for one lap.

On lap 79, she made one of her two ?rookie errors,? as she would call them, as she stalled her car out in the pits. It was an error that would drop her from fourth to 16th in the race. However, this is when she would prove she belonged as she slowly, and patiently, worked her way back up the field.

By lap 100, she had moved up to 14th place. Lap 113 she was in 13th and still moving forward. On lap 114 she had reached 11th, then on lap 147 she was back in the top 10 in ninth position.

During a caution on lap 155, Patrick pitted along with the other racers. Coming out of pit row, she managed to take over eighth place, however, when the green flag fell, she made her second error of the day, as her car spun out of control.

In the ensuing accident, two other drivers? cars were wrecked, and Patrick?s had part of the nose sheered off. However, thanks to some great work by her pit crew, her car was repaired, she got new tires and a full tank of gas, and was back on the track and in ninth. Incredibly, she only lost one position.

The race leaders headed for the pits at lap 172 and Patrick stayed out and took the lead for the second time in the race. That?s also when her team leader began the calculations ? did she have enough fuel to stay out and complete the race?

Wheldon retook the lead on lap 186, but then another caution occurred to bring all the racers close together one more time. The start up after the caution would be the key if Patrick had any hopes of winning the race.

?My engineer, Ray (Leto), told me we needed to have the restart of the century,? Patrick said after the race according to Indy500.com. ?I think we had it.?

Had it she did, as she flew into the lead with the restart on lap 189 and had the crowd of over 300, 000 on their feet cheering her on. She was able to hold onto the lead with some solid driving for six laps, but then fate intervened.

With her fuel dropping faster than she and her team had hoped, she could not run full throttle and had to slow it down to conserve to be able to finish the race. This opened the door for Wheldon, who passed her for the final time with just six laps to go. Two laps later, her teammate Vitor Meira and then Bryan Herta, Wheldon?s teammate, also passed her to put her into fourth place. Once there, her team leader told her to ?hold that position,? which she did against the hard charging Budd Lazier and Dario Franchitti.

With two laps left in the race, fellow rookie driver Sebastien Bourdais crashed, which brought out the yellow flag. One lap later, the race was in the books with Wheldon the winner and Patrick taking fourth.

?Wow, what a race for me,? said Patrick after her historic run according to Rahal.com. ?I had a stall in the pits, a spin and I was leading the race at the end (lap 190). Gee, this is only my fifth IndyCar race. I think I showed that I was a rookie with some of the things that happened. But I think I showed that my on-track performance is all there. I got to lead the race in my first Indy 500 and actually had a chance to win the race. I am pleased with my performance today and all month.?

With her fourth place finish, Patrick received $378, 855 in prize money and was named Indy Rookie of the Year. More importantly, she gained the respect of her fellow drivers and the admiration of millions of new IndyCar fans.

As the dust settles on this year?s Indy 500, Patrick and the rest of the IRL IndyCar drivers move on to the Texas Motor Speedway for the Bombadier 500, the next stop on the schedule June 11th.

With the way she handled herself at Indy, it is probably only a matter of time before Patrick finds herself taking a checkered flag on some windswept race track in the not-so-distant future. When that time comes, she will once again make history.

However, when she does, she will no longer surprise anyone because she has proven herself at Indy this year. If she keeps her focus and continues to improve the way she has all season long, it is only a matter of time before she finds herself in the winner's circle at the end of a race.

She might only stand 5-foot, 2-inches tall, but in the racing world, she might just be destined to become a giant.