Danica Patrick Belle Of The Ball In Daytona 500 Qualifications

Daytona Beach, Fla. – Throughout the history of auto racing, it has been a male-dominated sport but there are signs of change in the air. And one of the changes took place at the Daytona International Speedway on Sunday afternoon. Forty-four men and one female were attempting to qualify for the Daytona 500 and when the day ended, the boys – the good old boys – were beaten by Danica Patrick, one of the highest-profile names in the sport. And Patrick made history by becoming the first female to win a NASCAR Sprint Car Series pole.

Until now, Janet Guthrie had been the fastest female in Sprint Cup competition when she qualified ninth twice in the 1977 season and for the Daytona 500, Guthrie set the previous standard in 1980 with an 18th fastest speed.

Driving smoothly and rapidly, Patrick topped the speed charts with a flawless lap of 196.434 miles per hour. Her timing couldn’t have been more precise as it came at a time when things are slow in the sports world, which will further escalate the hype for next Sunday’s Daytona 500.

Joining Patrick in the front row for the Great American Race will be Jeff Gordon, a three-time Daytona 500 winner. He stopped the clocks at 196.292 mph.

Patrick drove the brightly colored GoDaddy Chevrolet fielded by Stewart-Haas Racing. Her teammates are Ryan Newman and co-owner Tony Stewart, and they qualified fourth and fifth, respectively.

“I am excited and relieved,” she said. “90 per cent falls on (crew chief) Tony Gibson, and maybe 10 per cent on me. I just have to think about running smooth and not letting the car bind up. I think it shows how well prepared this team is, how strong the Hendrick engines are and how good the new Chevy SS is. It is amazing how much effort goes into a car for the Daytona 500. It is nice that all the hard work can pay off, and that we can give ourselves that opportunity to lead the pack down to the line for the start of the Daytona 500.”

While the wind affected many cars, Patrick said it did not bother her. “Coming off turn 2, the car felt bound up. I let it out a little bit more than I would have. If that was the wind I don’t know. Ultimately, at end of day, everything happens for a reason. While coming in to today, many thought I might get the pole, but I wondered whether I was ready. But now I am comfortable and cool with what has happened.”

Asked if the limelight bothers her, she said, “When the pressure is on and the spotlight is on, I feel like I have some of my better races and results. I don’t know why that is, but I am grateful for it. For a lot of reasons, I have been lucky enough to make history and be the first woman to do many things, and I hope I don’t stop doing that as we have a lot more history to make.”

She admits she has a lot to learn and hopes to learn from the other drivers. “I am a rookie and learning as much as I can for 499 miles, the last 10 laps or whatever, so we can be in position to keep rolling and have a chance for the win.”

Gibson added, “It is a team effort and like I told Danica, it is more than 10 per cent for the driver. We gave her a good product, and she went out and did the rest – more like a 50/50 effort to me.”

“I am really proud today more than anything,” Stewart said. “This was one of the most difficult winter’s ever for all the teams, getting prepared to come down here. I am very appreciative of the effort by our team, and I am very appreciative of the people at Mobil 1. They have worked just as hard on the lubricant side as we have on the cars.” He indicated Mobil 1’s involvement may have made the performance difference.

Regarding Patrick, Stewart added, “She did such a really good job of carrying speed off turn 2. She made all of her time up on the backstretch and carrying that speed is the key to that. All three of us ran great laps, but she did something a little different. It is easy to come down here on your first or second year and scrub speed off. Two years ago I said she runs such a smooth line, which is what you have to do to carry speed.”

Stewart said her pole was a huge accomplishment, and there’s only one person who can be the first to do anything. “I have a huge amount of pride in what she did, doing so on her second trip here in a Cup car,” said the co-owner. “I think Danica really has two boyfriends; she has Ricky (Stenhouse Jr.) and Tony Gibson. They are all but holding hands in the shop, and that is good for the team. Having three teams with drivers and crew chiefs getting along and happy to be paired up is great for the team.”

Gordon will start alongside Patrick, and he will be driving the Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet. The former champion has qualified for the front row three times previously.

“This is big for us to be on the front row at Daytona, an accomplishment in and of itself,” he said. “A lot of effort went into those two laps, and we are here to win the Daytona 500. And this is a great step for accomplishing that goal, and it is great to be part of history with Danica being on the pole. We know how popular she is and what she has done for our sport.”

Discussing his qualification run, Gordon said his car fell off the jack-stand in the garage earlier today, and it had to be repaired prior to time trials. And that incident came on the heels of earlier tests and practice runs that didn’t go well. “I didn’t think we had a shot at the pole,” he added. “But when I started the lap, I thought this is going to be better, even though the gusts (of wind) were huge today. Yes, I am surprised, and I didn’t think we would be that close. Had I known I might have driven across the track apron, but I am thrilled to be on the front row.”

2011 Daytona winner Trevor Bayne qualified third in the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford and Newman was fourth fastest.
Stewart and Kasey Kahne were next in the speed runs with Denny Hamlin and teammate Kyle Busch next in line. They drove the fastest of the Toyotas.

Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top-10 qualifiers.

45 cars took a time-trial run and 43 will start the “Great American Race.”

Only Patrick and Gordon are locked into the starting field for Sunday’s race with the remainder of the starting positions to be determined through the finishes in Thursday’s Duel races. The highest 15 finishers in each Duel will earn a starting spot and positions 33-36 will go to the four fastest cars from qualifying that have not already earned a spot. Positions 37-42 will be provisional positions with the 43rd position assigned to any car owner who has the most recent eligible past Sprint Cup champion, who did not make the field for other reasons.

The track will be closed Monday and Tuesday and reopen with practice on Wednesday, to be followed by the two Duel events on Thursday.

Related Posts

• 
  Motorsports Minute: Kyle Busch
• 
  Motorsports Minute: Chase Elliott
• 
  Motorsports Minute: Chase Elliott