Call her Daytona Danica. And call her work historic.After a week in which her romantic relationship with fellow driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has led the news at Daytona International Speedway, Danica Patrick turned the talk – and it was loud – to racing Sunday by winning the pole position for the Daytona 500.Patrick, qualifying early in the session and technically a series rookie, was clocked at 196.434 miles per hour, running one of the fastest restrictor-plate time-trial laps in Daytona history. The bigger timeline moment, however, is this one – she is the first female pole winner in the history of NASCAR’s top series, dating to 1949.And she did it in qualifying for NASCAR’s biggest race.“I appreciate the recognition, but I think it falls 90 percent on Tony (crew chief Tony Gibson) and his guys who give me the cars and maybe 10 percent on me,” Patrick said. “I think it shows how well-prepared Tony and everybody was and how strong the Hendrick engines are and how good the new [Chevrolet] SS is.”Gibson disagreed, saying, “We gave her a great product and she took it the rest of the way.”The pole carries no promise of success – the last 500 pole winner to also win the race was Dale Jarrett in 2000, but it’s worth a week of publicity. And, in Patrick’s case, that can be doubled or tripled. The media storm will be immense. Only minutes after the pole win became official, her Monday schedule already was being reworked.Only a handful of women have raced in the Cup series. Prior to Patrick’s Sunday run, the best qualifying effort – ninth – by a woman had been posted by Janet Guthrie in 1977.Every driver will confess that qualifying at Daytona is mostly about the car, but that does not diminish Patrick’s achievement. She outran some of NASCAR’s top guns – Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne, among others – to sit atop the sport for a day.“They’ve got good stuff over there for her, and Tony is really good at what he does,” said Eddie Wood, co-owner of the Wood Brothers team. “She’s going to run better than people think this year, not just here but everywhere during the season. She’s not going to be top five or top 10 all that often, but she’s going to be good – a solid top-15 driver. She might even give Ricky Stenhouse a run for his money.”Gordon, who described himself as Sunday’s “fastest guy,” was second to Patrick Sunday. The top two spots are locked in for the 500.“I’m proud to be part of the history and to be on the front row with Danica,” Gordon said. “We all know how popular she is and what this will do for our sport.”The rest of the 500 grid will be filled by the results of Thursday’s qualifying races, time-trial speeds and provisionals.Completing the top five Sunday were Trevor Bayne, Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart, giving Stewart-Haas Racing three of the top five spots.“I’m really proud today more than anything,” Stewart said. “I’m very appreciative of everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing and the Hendrick engine and chassis departments for all the work they’ve put forth to get ready for Daytona. This was probably one of the most difficult winters I can remember from my 15 years of going thru off-seasons here.”As for Patrick’s run, Stewart said, “She runs so smooth. She runs such a smooth line, and that’s what you have to do here to carry speed.”Stewart jokingly described Gibson as Danica’s “second boyfriend” because they have been together so much.In the second five Sunday were Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was 11th.
Danica Patrick 


La piloto estadounidense Danica Patrick obtuvo la ''pole position'' para las 500 Millas de Daytona, una carrera de automovilismo que se disputará el domingo 24 de febrero en Daytona Beach (estado de Florida, Estados Unidos). Así se convirtió en la primera mujer en lograr dicha hazaña en la Copa NASCAR, el principal campeonato de ''stock cars''. Al conocerse su resultado, declaró que es "una ''pole'' del equipo" Stewart-Haas, a cuyos integrantes agradeció por su labor durante el receso invernal.

En su vuelta de clasificación, Patrick recorrió las 2,5 millas (4 km) al óvalo de Daytona International Speedway en 45,817 segundos a una velocidad promedio de 196,434 mph (316,130 km/h). Jeff Gordon, cuádruple campeón de la Copa NASCAR y triple ganador de las 500 Millas de Daytona, clasificó segundo a 33 milésimas de segundo, tras lo cual se autodenominó como "el muchacho más rápido" de la sesión.

Patrick superó el récord de Janet Guthrie, quien había clasificado novena en dos carreras de la Copa NASCAR en 1977. Al igual que Guthrie, ella se ha destacado también en las 500 Millas de Indianápolis, otra carrera prestigiosa del país, donde finalizó cuarta en 2005 y tercera en 2009. También venció en la fecha de Motegi de la IndyCar Series 2008, siendo la única mujer que triunfó en monoplazas Indy. La piloto obtuvo tres ''pole positions'' en 2005 y resultó quinta en 2009.

La piloto inició su transición a la NASCAR en 2010, donde resultó cuarta en la fecha de Las Vegas de la NASCAR Nationwide Series 2011. Las 500 Millas de Daytona será la 11ª carrera de la piloto de Chevrolet en la Copa NASCAR. Esta temporada disputará el título de Novato del Año, teniendo como principal adversario a Ricky Stenhouse Jr., piloto de Ford y novio de Patrick.

Los demás pilotos deberán determinar su posición en la grilla de las 500 Millas de Daytona en los Duelos, dos carreras clasificatorias a realizarse el jueves 21. El tricampeón de la Copa NASCAR Tony Stewart clasificó quinto, y el vencedor de la edición 2012 de la prueba Matt Kenseth resultó décimo. El campeón defensor del certamen Brad Keselowski quedó relegado al 23º y el quíntiple campeón Jimmie Johnson tuvo suerte similar y marcó el 21º mejor registro de la jornada.