Danica Patrick shocks the world

KANSAS CITY, KS - MAY 10: Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 GoDaddy Chevrolet, and Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, lead a pack of cars during a restart in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 5-Hour Energy 400 at Kansas Speedway on May 10, 2014 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, KS - MAY 10: Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 GoDaddy Chevrolet, and Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, lead a pack of cars during a restart in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 5-Hour Energy 400 at Kansas Speedway on May 10, 2014 in Kansas City, Kansas.  (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, KS – MAY 10: Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 GoDaddy Chevrolet, and Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, lead a pack of cars during a restart in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 5-Hour Energy 400 at Kansas Speedway on May 10, 2014 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)

When you’re an athlete and your name is trending on Twitter, either something very bad has happened or something very good. For Danica Patrick it was the latter Saturday night during the NASCAR Sprint Cup series race at Kansas Speedway.

The weekend started out well for the second year driver at Stewart-Haas Racing .Friday Patrick qualified ninth, her best qualifying effort at a non-restrictor plate track.   Saturday night continued the trend as Patrick made her way into the top 10 before the halfway point. She never lost touch with the leaders and in the final stages, Patrick began to make aggressive moves towards the front. On a restart on lap 161, she was in fifth.

On lap 172 however the big move of her night came when Patrick passed Dale Earnhardt Jr. and her boss Tony Stewart in one swoop to take over the third spot. Suddenly the Twitter universe lit up as “Danica Patrick” began to trend and many wondered if she could close the deal.  MORE>>>

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.