Here Are four Who Affected Your World in 2005.(News)

Danica Patrick

America couldn't take its eyes off Danica Patrick last season. She was the most important thing to happen to the Indy Racing League. She actually inspired non-race fans to pay attention.

The recently married 23-year-old Indy car driver from Roscoe, Illinois, graced the covers of Sports Illustrated, TV Guide, ESPN the magazine and USA Today, to name a few. She appeared twice on the David Letterman show and was a red-carpet guest at a Hollywood movie premier.

Next season is pivotal for Bobby Rahal's protege: She must translate a year's worth of high-profile PR into on-track success. She pairs again with 2004 Indy 500 winner Buddy Rice.

And Patrick needs more than three poles and a pair of fourth-place finishes-her 2005 tally-to prove she is not just another pretty face. The world is watching.

Masatami Takimoto

If you're in charge of overseeing a company's hybrid technology development, it's a huge job-with enormous political and social ramifications. If you have oversight of a company's world championship racing efforts, that puts you on the front lines, too. Both of those bucks stop with Masatami Takimoto, 59, executive vice president of Toyota Motor Corp.