Danica Patrick retired from racing last year and while she never won a NASCAR race, she is one of the most successful women driver’s in the sport’s history. And she proved that in 2013 when she won pole position for the 2013 Daytona 500. She became the first woman in Daytona 500 history to win pole position for not just the Daytona 500, but for any NASCAR Series Cup event.
“It’s really amazing how much effort is put into a qualifying car for Daytona and really only the front row is what sticks for Sunday,” Patrick said at the time. “It’s nice that all that hard work can pay off and that we can give ourselves that opportunity to lead the pack down into the tri-oval for the green flag of the Daytona 500.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
Along with being the first woman to win pole, she became the first rookie to win the Daytona 500 pole since Jimmy Johnson in 2002. She made her first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start in the 2012 Daytona 500 and finished 38th.
“I love it when people put me on the radar,” Patrick said, who was considered the favorite entering qualifying to win the pole. “It’s a confidence boost when people are saying, ‘I heard Mr. Childress say he thought I was the one to lose the pole.’ When people put you on the radar, that feels good to me.”
As for the actual race, Patrick impressed everyone by finishing eight. Some even thought she was going to win as she was in third place in the final lap.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun to watch her progress,” Dale Earnhardt, Jr. said to Sports Illustrated as he would end his career with two Daytona 500 wins. “Every time I’ve seen her in a pretty hectic situation, she’s always remained really calm. She’s got a great level head. She’s a racer. She knows what’s coming. She’s smart about her decisions. She knew what to do today as far as track position and not taking risks.
“Today was about executing and doing everything right, just having a clean run. It was a little too nervous to sit on the pole throughout the whole thing. Watching all those cars, that’s nerve-wracking, especially on an empty stomach.”
The Daytona 500 starts at 2:30 p.m. ET on Fox Sunday, with pre-race coverage starting at 1 p.m. ET.
