The 2008 Indy Japan 300 was the third round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season, for drivers who competed in the series in 2007 and teams that had entered for 2008 who were not former Champ Car teams that were in transition. This was because the 2008 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach occurred on the same weekend and there was no way of changing dates to avoid the clash when the reunification took place. Originally scheduled for the afternoon of April 19, 2008 at the 1.52-mile (2.45 km) Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, Tochigi, the race was delayed by 22 hours until the morning of April 20, due to water seeping up onto the track from previous heavy rains.^[2] Danica Patrick won the race, becoming the first female winner in the history of top-level American open-wheel racing.^[3]

2008 Motegi

Race details
3rd (A) round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season
Date	April 20, 2008
Official name	Indy Japan 300
Location	Twin Ring Motegi
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.520 mi / 2.446 km
Distance	200 laps 304.000 mi / 489.241 km
Weather	54 °F (12 °C), Mostly cloudy
Pole position
Driver	Hélio Castroneves ( Penske Racing)
Time	set by driver points[1]
Fastest lap
Driver	Hélio Castroneves ( Penske Racing)
Time	27.6476 (on lap 12 of 200)
Podium
First	Danica Patrick ( Andretti Green Racing)
Second	Hélio Castroneves ( Penske Racing)
Third	Scott Dixon ( Chip Ganassi Racing)