A new era in motor racing will begin when the green flag flies on Sunday with the first-ever predominantly female team taking on the Indianapolis 500 for the first time.

"Women didn't know it was for them and the few who did didn't have a lot of opportunity," Paretta Autosport team owner Beth Paretta said when asked why it took more than a century for a team like hers to even reach the starting line.

"Hire hard-working women," she added. "End of story."