Penske pays tribute as Patrick bows out of Nascar

– Danica Patrick (right), who inspired young women to break into the male-dominated sport of motor racing, will make her final Nascar start at tomorrow’s Daytona 500.

“Not only is it the biggest Nascar race of the year, it’s wide open from a performance standpoint,” Patrick told reporters this week at Daytona 500 media day. “It’s exciting. Anything can happen.”

Patrick’s start tomorrow, in what is known as the Great American Race, is the first half of what is being dubbed the “Danica Double” and will be followed by her final appearance in the Indianapolis 500 in May before retiring.

Although Patrick has never won a Nascar race in 190 starts, she is the only woman to win the Daytona 500 pole, which she did in 2013 before going on to a career-best eighth-place finish in that race. Last year she finished 28th in Nascar Cup standings.

Patrick, 35, parlayed a ground-breaking debut performance in the 2005 running of the Indy 500 into a career where the young driver shone at first.

She qualified fourth, led laps and finished fourth that year establishing a record for women at the time.

Although she was competitive in open wheel cars, Patrick won only one IndyCar race in a seven-year stint consisting of 117 starts.

Roger Penske, the double Daytona 500 and 16-time Indy 500-winning team owner, told Reuters in an e-mail: “Danica Patrick has really made a lasting impact on racing. Her success, both on the race track and the way she has helped grow the fan base in both IndyCar and Nascar, has been remarkable.” –