Danica Patrick has set a number of records in her short career as a racecar driver and she did just that again on Sunday as she became the first woman in the history of the sport to win the pole in a Sprint Cup race.
It is even more notable that it was the Daytona 500, known as "The Great American Race" and is considered the Super Bowl if NASCAR. Patrick has been driving in NASCAR for four years and this is the first time she has won the pole, coming out eighth in the qualifying session and going over the track in 45.817 seconds, averaging 196.434 mph.
"Hopefully, there are good things to come," Patrick said.
Patrick had to wait a few hours while the rest fo the field raced to see if her number would hold and after Jeff Gordon came in a close second, it did hold up, making her the first woman to hold the spot. He came in second and was the only other racer to get up to 196 mph, giving him a guaranteed spot ay Sunday's race.
"It's great to be part of history," Gordon said. "I can say I was the fastest guy today."
The rest of the spots will be set during the week in the duel qualifying races on Thursday, but Gordon and Patrick will not have to work about placement. Patrick's No. 10 car will be at the front of the pack.
"We say it's not really us, but she's got to do her part, too," team owner and fellow driver Tony Stewart said. "She did a really good job. I'm proud of all of us."
Patrick made headlines all throughout the week about her relationship with fellow rookie driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr., but now all the talk has been about her performance on the track. Patrick is now a frontrunner for the race on Sunday,
Patrick used the speed in her car to her advantage, using the bottom of the track to come in fast on straightaways and putting her Hendrick Motorsports engine to the fullest. Patrick has never won a race on the NASCAR circuit since she debuted four years ago, with her best placement coming 17th out of 10 Sprint Cup races in her career.
Patrick starred on the Nationwide circuit and had one top-five finish out of 58 starts and did her best in 2011 when she finished 10th in the overall standings. She will now battle with her boyfriend for rookie of the year honors on the Sprint Cup circuit.
"That's a really big deal because qualifying for the Daytona 500 is really interesting thing," Patrick said. "If you're anywhere but the front row, it's really hard to see on race day. This just speaks volumes of Stewart-Haas Racing. It just shows what a great organization it is."
Last year Patrick had some issues at her Daytona 500 debut, crashing in lap two with Jimmie Johnson, David Ragan, Kurt Busch, and Trevor Bayne, leaving her to finished 38th. She likely will do much better this time around after winning the pole.
