By John Lamm
Since June 19, 1949 there have been 2354 top-level NASCAR races called everything from Strictly Stock to today’s Sprint Cup and in every event there was a male driver starting on the pole. You can kiss that record goodbye. Danica Patrick, driving a Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing, put the car on the pole for next Sunday’s Daytona 500. That quickest lap came in at 196.434 mph, making Patrick the only driver to hit the 196-mph mark other than her partner on the front row, four-time champ Jeff Gordon, also in an SS. Their spots are set for Sunday, while the rest of the field will race for their starting positions in a pair of 150-mile races on Thursday.
Unsurprising, many comments made regarding Patrick’s success claimed the qualifying session was rigged, a setup to get NASCAR publicity. Consider, though, that Patrick has been quick in practice all week, and took the pole for last year’s Nationwide race at Daytona. Remember, too, that she finished third in the Indy 500 in 2009 and won IndyCar’s Motegi race in 2008.
Patrick wasn’t the only woman driver making her mark at Daytona over the weekend, as Venezuelan driver Milka Duno—a naval engineer with numerous masters degrees—started from the front row of the ARCA race on Saturday, and led the first 11 laps.
As for the Patrick doubters, they’ll have to wait until the end of next Sunday to determine whether they’ve been proved right or wrong. The only problem for Patrick is that no pole-sitter has won the Daytona 500 since 2000.
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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Car & Driver
