NNS: Patrick Soars To Daytona Pole

Nationwide

NNS: Patrick Soars To Daytona Pole

Danica Patrick became the first woman to win a Nationwide Series pole since Shawna Robinson in 1994...

Mike Hembree | Posted February 24, 2012 Daytona Beach, FL

Danica Patrick is off to a blazing start in her pursuit of this year’s Nationwide Series championship.

Patrick won the pole Friday for Saturday’s DRIVE4COPD 300 Nationwide opener at Daytona International Speedway with a speed of 182.741 miles per hour.

Patrick edged Trevor Bayne by .007 of a second for the pole.

She became the first woman to win a Nationwide pole since former driver Shawna Robinson started first at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1994.

The pole win came only one day after Patrick endured a vicious crash on the final lap of a Thursday qualifying race for the Daytona 500.

Patrick said she was thrilled with the pole win mainly because her crew chief, Tony Eury Jr., wanted it so badly.

“The bottom line is that Tony builds really good cars,” she said. “The guys who helped him did a great job. I’m really thrilled for Tony Junior.”

She said starting first won’t make a significant change in the team’s plans for the first race of the year, but “it’s nice to start at front of the pack so there will be a lot less chance of problems,” she said.

Patrick said the team getting the first choice of pit boxes was a key. “No more wondering where my pit is with a sea of pit signs,” she said.

Bayne and Elliott Sadler said it was great for Patrick – and great for the series – to start the season with a flourish.

“It’s so cool for her to start off her season that way,” Bayne said. “She’s looking for that boost. With her running full-time, that’s the kind of momentum you need to build on. She’s done a good job of holding her own in the sport since she got here.”

Rounding out the top five in qualifying were Sadler, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Austin Dillon, last year’s Camping World Truck Series champion.

Sadler said Patrick, who plans to run the full Nationwide Series this year, is the most improved driver in NASCAR’s three major series over the past two years.

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.

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Mike Hembree

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