Danica car gets new home.

The car driven by Danica Patrick in the 2005 Indianapolis 500, when she became the first woman to lead laps in the historic race en route to a fourth-place finish, has found a home in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.

Rahal Letterman Racing co-owner Bobby Rahal officially presented the car to the museum during a ceremony on Monday, it having been donated by present owner Stanley Ross, who owns and maintains a number of historic race cars, including ones driven by Rahal throughout his legendary career.

""It is an exciting day, thanks to the generosity of Stan, who was involved with us and Danica right from the start in Formula Atlantic and then graduated with her to the 500 in '05," Rahal commented, "This is the right place for the car, for sure, especially now that she's won a race. But, even prior to that, the fact that she led and it was such a precedent-setting performance, this is the right place for it.

"Early on, I asked Stanley to [join us] in the Atlantics, and he was involved in us and the car. When I said I want to take Danica to Indy at the end of '04, I said 'will you join with us again', and he said 'yeah' so, basically, it's his car. We suggested to him that he might want to give it to the museum, and it didn't take long for him to do so. We've been trying to hold this affair for six months, [but] I think its better that we waited until now, not just because of the win, but more so because this is Indianapolis and this is the right place for it."

The #16 Argent Mortgage G-Force-Honda debuted at the 2005 Indy 500, where Patrick first made history by qualifying fourth, setting a high-water mark for female drivers at Indianapolis. She became the first woman to lead a lap when pit-stop cycles gave her the lead on lap 56, but came back to pace 18 of the final 28 laps, battling fiercely with eventual winner Dan Wheldon before finishing fourth - a result that catapulted Patrick to the forefront of the national sportscape, and landed her on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

The car eventually made nine starts with Patrick at the wheel during 2005, making more history by earning pole positions at Kansas, Kentucky and Chicagoland, and going on to score six top ten finishes in its IndyCar Series career, including a seventh-place run in its final outing with Jeff Simmons at the wheel last season at Infineon Raceway.

"It's flattering to think that a car I drove is going to be on display at Indianapolis Motor Speedway," Patrick admitted, "The 2005 Indianapolis 500 was an amazing race for me and was a milestone day in the history of the biggest race in the world. I'm glad fans will have a chance to relive that day and get a closer look at a car that played a significant role in my career and in the legend of the Indianapolis 500."