Danica Patrick broke her own record for best Indianapolis 500 finish by a woman, but car owner Michael Andretti believed she was one pass from having a chance to be the first female winner.

Patrick, who finished third in Sunday’s 93rd running of the race, was behind only eventual winner Helio Castroneves and runner-up Dan Wheldon on the final restart on lap 183.

Patrick tried an outside move shortly after the restart, was briefly second coming across the start-finish line, but never completed the pass on Wheldon, who was on the inside.

“If she would have passed Dan, I think she had a shot at Helio,” Andretti said. "Unfortunately, she didn’t get him on the restart because Dan was getting the tow from Helio when she was on the outside.

•Photo gallery: Danica Patrick

“It was just fast enough she couldn’t get him, but if she would have gotten him, it would have been an interesting finish.”

Patrick’s finish bettered by one spot her 2005 Indy 500 finish, when as a rookie she became the first woman to lead the race (she paced the field for 19 laps) and finished fourth.

Patrick started 10th on Sunday — she has started in the top 10 in all five of her Indy 500s — and has finished third, fourth and eighth twice, in addition to last year’s 22nd-place finish after colliding with Ryan Briscoe in the pits with 19 laps to go.

Patrick, who ran in the top 10 nearly the entire day and was as high as fifth shortly before the midway point, was fourth after the next-to-last caution ended with 34 laps to go. The race went back to yellow from laps 174-182.

“I wish it would have been green the whole last run,” Patrick said. "Our car was really good on longer runs. We had a great restart on the last restart, an awesome run out of (turns) three and four, and I instantly went to the outside.

“It was that good of a run, but I just didn’t have enough.”

Patrick, the only woman to win an Indy-car race, said her car performed similar to 2005: average when she was running in traffic but good near the front.

Her Andretti Green team helped her gain spots on pit stops, except for one when she overshot her mark.

Though her finish bettered the ‘05 run that sparked Danicamania, it was suggested that this year’s result wouldn’t create such hysteria.

“That’s good, though,” said one of the most popular female sports personalities in the world. "I’m doing my job. My job is to finish as high as possible and get as many wins as possible.

“I’m actually glad about the shift.”

Though Patrick never led Sunday, her overall performance in some ways was better than ‘05 because she didn’t move to the front simply on pit strategy.

She battled the leaders and made several passes to help her position.

At one point in the first half of the race, she was behind only powerhouse drivers Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan, and rookie Raphael Matos.

Wheldon, who came up through the ranks in England and ran some of the same events there as Patrick, said she is past the point of being viewed as a good “female” driver.

“I don’t treat her like a female on the racetrack,” Wheldon said. “She’s just a formidable competitor that doesn’t give up. She’s an IndyCar winner, and to win Indy-car races these days is incredibly difficult.”