As NASCAR returns to Daytona Danica Patrick looks for repeat of February success

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - JULY 04: Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, drives through the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 4, 2013 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
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DAYTONA BEACH, FL - JULY 04:  Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, drives through the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 4, 2013 in Daytona Beach, Florida.  (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
DAYTONA BEACH, FL – JULY 04: Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, drives through the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 4, 2013 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

When NASCAR Sprint Cup series rookie driver Danica Patrick made her fulltime series debut at Daytona International Speedway this past February she made quite a first impression.  It’s the type of success Patrick said Thursday she hopes to repeat as the series returns to Daytona for Saturday nights Coke Zero 400.

Patrick became the first woman to score a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole, and was the first woman to lead laps during the Daytona 500 leading a total of five.

“Can I do the same thing?” Patrick said Thursday. “Yeah I don’t get worse as the year goes on.  Especially in the early years of running in a new series, so presumably I should hopefully have better experience at doing it especially having done Talladega too.  It’s definitely possible.” 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.