In the 2009 off-season, she made her second appearance at the 24 Hours of Daytona and teamed up with Casey Mears, Andy Wallace, and Rob Finlay in the No. 2 Daytona Prototype class Pontiac Crawford DP08 fielded by Childress-Howard Motorsports, finishing eighth in class and overall after overcoming several mechanical issues. Patrick again returned to Andretti Green Racing for the 2009 season. She placed 19th in the first race of the season, the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, after clashing with Raphael Matos while in ninth place. Patrick recovered to finish fourth and fifth in the next two races of the season, at Long Beach and Kansas. She took her best career finish in five attempts at the Indianapolis 500 by finishing in third position. This set a new record for the highest-placed finish for a woman in Indianapolis 500 history. For the rest of the season, she scored seven more top-ten finishes with her best being a pair of fifth positions at the Milwaukee and Richmond races. Patrick finished the season fifth overall in the point standings, her highest finish to date. This fifth-place finish was not only the highest of any of the Andretti drivers, but of any non-Penske or Chip Ganassi Racing driver for the season. In December, she signed a contract extension that would see her through the next two seasons, with the option for a third in 2012.