To hear the critics talk all week Danica Patrick would have been lucky to finish the Indy 500 let alone finish in the top six.

All week critics had been slamming Patrick for her attitude in practice and her well publicized flirting with NASCAR, hinting that she was finished.

Patrick actually came roaring back into the limelight at the Indy 500 on Sunday when she finished a very creditable sixth after starting in 23rd place.

So on the big day itself at the old Brickyard, Patrick, an Irish American from Wisconsin, proved them all wrong. .

"I'm very happy with the result, and the reasons we got it were our pit stops rocked and we had a perfect strategy," she said. "We did struggle a little bit in the early going (and) almost went a lap down (to the leaders)."

"I'm really glad that yellow (flag) came out at the end because we were cutting it real close on fuel," she said.

Her critics no doubt will not be going away any time soon, but the only woman to ever crash the exclusive all male club of competitive auto racing has shown there is still plenty left in the tank.

Good for her.