ARCA: Patrick Turns First Stock-Car Laps At Daytona

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ARCA: Patrick Turns First Stock-Car Laps At Daytona

Rain has plagued ARCA testing at Daytona International Speedway.

Tom Jensen | Posted December 18, 2009 Daytona Beach, FL

JR Motorsports crew chief Tony Eury Jr. (Left) talks with Danica Patrick (Right) during a test Friday at Daytona International Speedway. (Photo: Motorsports Images & Archives)

The rains in Central Florida stopped just long enough for Danica Patrick to turn four laps in her No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Impala Friday afternoon during the first of three days of ARCA testing at Daytona International Speedway.

Patrick barely had time to shake her car down before the rains that washed out the morning session returned and washed out the rest of the day.

But in her four-lap stint behind the wheel, Patrick managed a best lap of 176.142 miles per hour around the historic 2.5-mile Florida superspeedway. That put her 12th-fastest among the 26 drivers setting times in the abbreviated session.

Venturini Motorsports held down the top three positions on the session, with Mikey Kile running 180.708 mph, which put him ahead of teammates Steve Arpin, who had a best lap of 170.648 mph and Alii Owens, 178.660. Brandon McReynolds, son of SPEED and FOX television commentator Larry McReynolds, was fourth-fastest at 178.204. Completing the top five was Joey Coulter, at 177.771 mph. All the times were set in single-car runs.

Patrick, Larry McReynolds and SPEED reporter Robin Miller will appear on SPEED tonight at 6 p.m. ET for a television special from Daytona.

“It's still a car once you get in it,” Patrick said during a post test media center press conference on Friday. “I feel most comfortable once I'm at speed actually. Everything from getting into the car to getting the car started — that part feels quite different to me. It's not normal to me. The car gets pulled out to pit lane and you get in the car when it’s in its pit stall in an IndyCar and the getting strapped in part is something that I've been familiar with for a long time now so everything is a little bit different but once I get out there I feel good. I feel comfortable.”

Photos: Daytona ARCA Test

Patrick said the experience was quite a bit different than what she is used to with open-wheel cars.

“These cars can run more lanes on the track,” she said of her JR Motorsports Chevrolet. “You're all the way to the wall and the car is good to go there. It's easier to drive there and in an IndyCar you can't use quite as many lanes usually. That's just one of the first things I noticed. The gear shifter has more travel. You have to pull something and no more paddle anymore. The clutch is long. It's just different stuff. But I wouldn't say that there is any instinctual stuff that is different which is the best part, right? Because I just get to be a driver and I get to do what I'm used to. I feel comfortable once I get going.

“It does have a little bit of a grassroots feeling because there are a lot of cars sort of unpainted and everything but it's still a car that I need to learn and I'm unfamiliar with. I have a lot to learn so I'm glad I'm here.”

ARCA TESTING RESULTS

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of ?Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,? and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to

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