WIN OR LOSE, INDY 500 BELONGED TO PATRICK.

Byline: TIM HADDOCK Motor Sports

The sports world was introduced to the phenom that is Danica Patrick. Now the Indianapolis 500 hangover begins.

The Danica media blitz is hardly over. She graced the cover of this week's Sports Illustrated and is being touted as the Indy car driver who will slay the monster that has become NASCAR.

The Indy Racing League has to go a lot farther than Danica Patrick to surpass NASCAR in popularity. But it's a good start. Let's see if the IRL has enough appeal to keep Sam Hornish Jr. from making the jump to NASCAR.

Danica proved to be more than a pretty face, probably much to the dismay of Valencia's Bryan Herta of Andretti Green Racing. He made some controversial remarks about Danica's accomplishments, as well as her looks, before the race. Good thing for Herta he finished ahead of her - albeit one place - in the race. And if Sebastien Bourdais had found the wall a couple laps before No. 198, she might have won the darn thing.

Michael Andretti, 0 for 14 in Indy 500s as a driver, won his first as an owner. After the race, Andretti commented on how ``the curse'' at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was over.

Perhaps it has just begun.

Of all the Indy 500s to win, Andretti gets the one that will be remembered as the time a woman led the race. Not only led the race, but led lap 193.

It will be remembered as the Indy 500 in which Danica stalled her car in the pits and still came back to lead the race.

It will be remembered as the Indy 500 in which Danica spun warming her tires during a caution period, ripped off the nose of her car, came into the pits for repairs and still rallied to lead the race with seven laps to go.

``This is the first time I've ever cried in a race car,'' said Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon, driver of the No. 26 Honda-powered entry for Andretti Green Racing, after the race. ``I think this is the best race in the world and it's the most difficult to win.''

Wheldon was crying, but for all the wrong reasons.

The sad thing is he should be the story of the IRL, of the motor sports world really. Wheldon has won four of the first five races of the year, including the most storied race in the world, and yet Danica gets the cover of SI and what seems like the front page of every newspaper in the country.

Herta asked what has she accomplished. For starters, she managed to turn the IRL into a bit of a freak show: Look at the pretty girl with the lead foot. Sounds like she could have a spot between the bearded lady and the two-headed midget at the county fair.

For better or worse, this will be remembered as the Year of the Danica. Wheldon took the last swig of milk after the race, but Danica will always have the last word when it comes to talking about the 2005 Indianapolis 500.

The curse has just begun.

Meanwhile, back in NASCAR country, Ryan Newman added to his already impressive pole total at Lowe's Motor Speedway in North Carolina for the Coca-Cola 600.

But it was Jimmie Johnson who added to his legacy by winning the Coca-Cola 600 in the heart of NASCAR territory.

Newman, driver of the No. 12 Dodge Charger for Penske Racing South, won the 31st pole of his career, but finished fifth in the race.

As the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series heads to Dover International Speedway in Delaware, Newman was asked what he thought about being tagged as the king of Fridays, apparently a term used by reigning Cup champion Kurt Busch. In other words, Newman has made a habit of being the best in qualifying, but not so much on race day.

``It doesn't make me big-headed or anything if Kurt Busch calls me the king of Fridays,'' Newman said during NASCAR's weekly teleconference. ``I think if I can be the king of anything, that's great. Some guys never get to be the king of Happy Hour, a king of Fridays or a king of Sundays. And that's cool to me.''

Newman was also asked to comment on all the booing coming from the stands at Lowe's Motor Speedway during and after the race.

``I told the guys on the crew, I said, 'You'll know we've made it in this sport when they start throwing Alltell cell phones over the fence during the race,' '' Newman said. ``You know, I'm not happy with fans who throw things, you know, don't show respect for the reason that they're there.

``I mean, they're there to see a show. If they don't like it, they can leave. That's maybe a harsh way of saying it, but there's no sense endangering other people's lives by throwing things.''

Be careful what you wish for, Ryan Newman. Danica Patrick gave everyone a reason to watch the Indy 500. It could only be a matter of time before it becomes a Memorial Day habit again.

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BY TIM HADDOCK