Fastest at practice and fastest at qualifying, Danica Patrick and her No. 10 Chevrolet will start the legendary Daytona 500 from pole. A historic moment, Patrick is the very first woman to not only take the pole at the Daytona 500, but also to take pole at a NASCAR Sprint Cup event.
Danica Patrick's fastest speed clocked 196.434 mph, the fastest qualifying speed at Daytona for more than 20 years. In 1990, Ken Schrader's Chevrolet reached a blistering 196.515 mph. Locking up the front row is four-time Cup champion and fellow Chevrolet driver, Jeff Gordon.
When the grid confirmed that Danica Patrick held her pole position by the end of the qualifying session, Jeff Gordon approached Patrick for a favor before she could conduct any media interviews or stand with her team -- Gordon wanted Patrick to meet his 5-year-old daughter, Ella.
A role model for many young girls out there, Ella hadn't realized that girls could grow up to become successful racing drivers until she learned about Danica Patrick. Now, not only is Patrick making a career for herself in motorsports, she's beating the boys at one of NASCAR's most iconic venues.
Despite the attention, Danica Patrick was quick to tell reporters that there is more to the pole position than just her driving.
"I'm just the driver, this is a team pole," Patrick told reporters after taking pole.
Still, just as 5-year-old Ella is stunned with Patrick's achievement, the media outlets reporting NASCAR are more excited to write a story on Danica than on the entire No. 10 GoDaddy team. There's no question that Danica-mania has reached new heights. In fact, while fans celebrate her pole performance, critics will twist the situation into an example of a woman driver whose hype and marketability exceeds her talents.
In order to prove the naysayers wrong once and for all, being the fastest during practice and fastest during qualifying will not be enough. For the 55th running of the Daytona 500, held Feb. 24, Danica Patrick must start the race from pole and win the Daytona 500, an achievement only accomplished by 9 other drivers in Daytona 500 history. The last man to win Daytona 500 from pole was Dale Jarrett in 2000. In other words, the chances that Danica Patrick will win from pole is highly improbable, but not impossible.
With the new Gen 6 cars for 2013, it seems qualifying on the front row at Daytona delivers major advantages. Daytona 500 has always been a restrictor plate race and its pack racing strategies have indicated qualifying positions seldom dictate final results. However, the new cars have shown to be rather unstable while racing in packs, causing drafting maneuvers to be significantly more dicey than in the years past. The quicker cars up front certainly have a better chance to stay there.
So far, the Gen 6 cars have encountered big pack racing at three events, including Preseason Thunder, Sprint Unlimited Practice and the Sprint Unlimited race. Without fail, a large crash occurred each time. In fact, in order to protect the team's car, Jeff Gordon has already announced his plan to withdraw from draft practice on Wednesday to avoid writing off his car. For Gordon, the risk of destroying his No. 24 Chevrolet is just too great. Next week's Daytona 500 will be Gordon's 21st. He has nothing to prove in the Wednesday practice ahead.
However, Danica Patrick is far less experienced at the venue as it will only be her second time racing at the Daytona 500. What's more, the first time shouldn't even count as she crashed out on the opening lap of last year's race. For Patrick, it is smart to enter Thursday's Budweiser Duel. For a lack of a better term, the Budweiser Duel is a crash course that features 23 cars on the grid rather than the full 45-car lineup at the 500. What's more, Danica will once again lead at the green flag. A steep learning curve, Danica must learn all she can during Thursday's race but not take any unnecessary risks that might damage her car.
Stay tuned in the days ahead as we build up to the Daytona 500 next Sunday. Be sure to watch Danica Patrick's Daytona 500 qualifying session below.
