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Danica Makes History at Daytona
By Brad Gerhart
No, the darling of the American media did not become the first women to win the Daytona 500.
In fact she did not even finish inside the top-five.
Yes, she became the first female to win the pole and even lad the field while under green (led five total laps) at the Daytona International Speedway.
Through all of that she had a shot at a top-three with one lap to go, only to see her No.10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet fall back to eighth.
Could it have been a better finish? Yes, of course.
If Patrick went to the low lane, a side that many other drivers knew would be the way to go on the final lap, Patrick’s eighth very well could have been, at the very least a top five. Nevertheless a very impressive run in her second Daytona 500.
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During her Thursday Duel race she realized that the high line had more speed, although she remained on the lower end of the track and went completely backwards after only 12 laps of racing. On Sunday, during the final laps, again she realized a change of lines appeared to be quicker, yet again, she chose to be content with her line on the track. “I feel like maybe that's just my inexperience. Maybe that's me not thinking hard enough,“ Patrick said. “Getting creative enough. I'm not sure. I definitely was a little uncertain how I was going to be able to do it.” Her uncertainty clearly cost her several spots on the track as a handful of cars blew right past her, less than a mile to the checkered flag. Her uncertainty clearly cost her a shot at a Daytona victory, but if she learns from her experience it surely can help her prevail down the road.
Drivers seemed content with running single file for nearly the entire 200 laps which put Patrick in a comfortable place with next to no action of side drafting or worrying about other cars running different lines. “I never got any practice passing, I never tried really anything,” she said.
An eighth place for any driver is quite the accomplishment during the Daytona 500. For Danica Patrick it also meant she claimed the highest finish by a female, ever. Before Patrick, Janet Guthrie placed 11th in the 1980 race. Quite the historic weekend to begin her first full-time season of Cup racing.
Now, she totally proved (at least for a weekend) that she belongs in the Cup series and can run with the best at NASCAR’s most prestigious track. For the majority of the 500 miles she held her own, did not back down, stayed in line and did not falter or get caught up in any wrecks.
Does she expect to be upfront every weekend? Well not quite. “I think that would be unwise to sort of start telling myself that top ten is where we need to be every week.,” Patrick said. “I think that's setting up if failure.”
It’s quite clear though that the media will once again be watching her every move, both on and off the track.
PaddockTalk Perspective
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