Historic day for NASCAR, for Danica Patrick and for the world

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 17: Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, looks on after winning the pole award for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 17, 2013 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 17:  Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, looks on after winning the pole award for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 17, 2013 in Daytona Beach, Florida.  (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 17: Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, looks on after winning the pole award for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 17, 2013 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

DAYTONA BEACH FLA. – Danica Patrick’s pole winning run came early Sunday at Daytona International Speedway. Patrick, driving in her first full year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Stewart-Haas Racing, went out eighth and broke the track record.

She and the rest of NASCAR were then forced to sweat it out as 37 other drivers took their shot at the front spot. The only other driver who came close was Jeff Gordon who just missed the pole with a speed less than four hundreds of a second.

In the end Patrick took the top spot for NASCAR’s biggest race the Daytona 500, becoming the first woman to score a pole in the Sprint Cup series. 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.