Danica Patrick in pole position
The driver is the first woman to earn the top starting position for a NASCAR race.
She earns the spot for the Daytona 500 to become the first woman to get the post in a NASCAR race.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Oh my.
All those NASCAR traditionalists probably have their restrictor plates in a knot.
Danica Patrick is on the pole for the 55th running of the Daytona 500.
In a sport originally fueled by moonshiners, Patrick brings a whole different jug of jungle juice to the world of NASCAR. Fans love her; fans hate her. Same deal with drivers.
So in the ultimate “jealous much?” twist of irony, Patrick blew up the Internet again just days after she dwarfed every driver during media day at Daytona International Speedway because of her romance with Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
She became the first woman to earn the pole position for the storied Daytona 500, to be run next Sun- day.
It’s also the first time a woman has been on the pole of any NASCAR race. It’s a great honor, but the restrictor-plate madness at Daytona can bump you off the fast track in a hurry.
The deal gets a whole lot crazier Sunday: Patrick will be joined by 42 other drivers, jockeying round and round in a 200-lap, 500-mile race.
But it’s important to let this moment percolate for a while.
Patrick isn’t just dating one of the NASCAR boys.
She’s faster than all of them.
“I can say I was the fastest guy today,” joked Jeff Gordon, who qualified second.
Gordon (a lap of 45.924 seconds, good for 195.976 mph) was squeezed out by Patrick (45.817/196.434 mph) in other ways because his daughter, Ella Sofia, asked to pose for a picture with the First Lady of Racing.
Despite any wails of protest, this is great business for everybody: Fox Sports, the Speedway, NASCAR.
The sport may still struggle to find the “It Guy.”
But there is no question who is the “It Girl.”
“This is great,” Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood said.
“Track presidents — you take that title away — we were always promoters first. And promoting is about publicity and attention and getting people focused on something. We want every eyeball. We want every consumer showing up. We want everybody coming to the Daytona 500. And for me, every tool possible.”
Hello, Patrick, who at 30 is accustomed to the doubleedged twist of fame. She is the only woman to win a race in the IndyCar Series, holds the highest finish (third) by a woman in the Indianapolis 500 and is the only woman to lead a lap during the Indianapolis 500.
Crossing over to NASCAR is challenging, but she has received an A-team boost from Stewart-Haas Racing. It had three of the fastest five cars during Sunday’s qualifying runs. Ryan Newman was fourth, and owner/driver Tony Stewart was fifth.