Danica Patrick first woman to win pole for Daytona 500

[Eleanors38]

Source: NPR

Racer Danica Patrick today won the pole position for next week's Daytona 500. She is the first woman to achieve the highest starting position for NASCAR's biggest race. She did so with a speed of over 196 mph.

Read more: NPR

[frylock]

1. nice job!

[BumRushDaShow]

2. K&R

Have been following her progress. Should be an interesting race!

[Capt.Rocky300]

3. I wish she'd stop doing those trashy....

go daddy ads. In my opinion, it doesn't help her image and overshadows her skill as a professional race car driver.

[cliffordu]

6. And her current pole position just rendered mute that whole sexist argument.

[Capt.Rocky300]

7. No it doesn't........

My point is, the ads make her look less than professional. In my opinion, it violates a certain decorum she doesn't need to violate. Her accomplishments as a driver stand on their own but the suggestive nature of a girl on girl scene with a female cop does not endure her to me. I don't recall Dario Franchetti needing to do suggestive ads. And if he did, I'd consider that unprofessional as well. Call me old fashioned but there are limits to what I consider professional boundaries.

[cliffordu]

13. Fabulous. Whatever floats your boat.

Call her and ask her what she makes for doing the shoots and then as her what THOSE shoots do for the sport.

This is America, pal, everything is for sale.

[Capt.Rocky300]

16. And that is a large part of what's wrong with this country, pal.

[cliffordu]

19. Then go change it.

I'd sell nude pictures of me for a thousand each if there was anyone in the universe who'd want to see them.



Except for NYC_SKP, of course.

[Capt.Rocky300]

40. I'm trying to change it. And, as for the pictures.............

no thanks, I can't even stand to see myself naked.

[theHandpuppet]

38. Just for the record....

I totally agree with you.

[onehandle]

4. Go Daddy CEO Hunts And Kills Endangered Elephants.

So goody for her....

[Sgent]

5. Do you have any evidence of that?

African bush elephants are considered vulnerable -- which easily allows for limited hunting.

[onehandle]

9. Are you kidding. Search for godaddy and elephant.

It'll come up all over the Internet, including here.

[Sgent]

24. I know he has hunted elephants

but I've never seen it alleged that he took an endangered species. Not all elephant species are endangered, and limited hunting is allowed.

[bitchkitty]

27. Just because it's legal doesn't make it moral. n/t

[Eleanors38]

31. I take 2 deer/yr. Good food, good experience, good conservation.

[Eleanors38]

34. There was a time on DU when...

Punky comments like your's could be successfully alerted; thanks for stinking up the atmosphere.

Please note that some elephants in some areas of Africa are not endangered, and in fact pose dangers to the ecosystem(s) due to localized over-population. Sound familiar?

[bitchkitty]

36. Maybe you should grab your guns and go to Africa then. n/t

[Eleanors38]

41. I would if I could afford it. Even hunting "plains" animals is $500+ a day.

Plus air fare & "trophy fees." I'll stick with my Hill Country deer and axis exotics.

[snooper2]

37. You are correct, they require entirely different firearms to hunt

[LanternWaste]

43. I hear precisely the same about canned hunts...

"Good food, good experience, good conservation..."

I hear precisely the same about canned hunts... but then again, I do realize that we as humans often rationalize a distinction without a difference

[Eleanors38]

44. Describe the canned hunt you were on, since I have not been on one. nt

[Purveyor]

8. Harvick Takes Shot At Patrick-Stenhouse Headlines

Kevin Harvick wasted little time taking a shot at the media Saturday night.

Just minutes after winning the Sprint Unlimited exhibition race, Harvick ripped reporters for making such a big deal out of Danica Patrick's budding romance with fellow Sprint Cup rookie Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

"I think the biggest thing is how are we going to get Danica and Ricky on the front page tomorrow?" Harvick quipped. "I missed all you guys (at Media Day) because you were all busy being TMZ the other day. Now, you all have to talk to me and I can be a complete (jerk)."

No doubt, Patrick and Stenhouse shared the spotlight at Media Day and surely will garner plenty of attention during Speedweeks.

To be fair, though, both have been open and eager to talk about their dating life.

But not everyone believes their relationship should dominate headlines.

MORE...

http://missoulian.com/sports/motor-sports/harvick-takes-shot-at-patrick-stenhouse-headlines/article_1bbb2398-2094-59cb-8884-ddde66452ed9.html

IMO, Nascar 'engineered' this one just to provide some drama and perhaps fill a few more vacant seats that they have been unable to fill the last few years.

[olddad56]

10. all of the men drivers have poles, time she got one.

[Purveyor]

12. "strap on"? lol

[littlemissmartypants]

11. And that my darlings is what happens

when you lose weight (divorce) and don't have to call "daddy" it is just vroooooooom vrooooooooom, GO!
DANICA! I will be watching that race. I have admired her for a while. I am sure she will do well.
Thanks for posting .

Love, Peace and Shelter. lmsp

[jmowreader]

14. The guys should have watched Danica's performance

She glued the thing to the bottom of the racetrack all the way around. Most drivers go wide in the turns, but Danica didn't.

This also makes me think she likes an understeering, or "tight" racecar; a "loose" or oversteering racecar won't do what she did.

What this pole really gains her, besides an instant trip to next year's Sprint Unlimited race for pole winners from this season (formerly the Budweiser Shootout, and before that the Busch Clash), is first choice of pit stall - which has won plenty of races.

[House of Roberts]

17. A 'tight' car won't hold to the bottom.

It 'pushes' away from the bottom because it won't turn into the corner.

Watching her in car camera and listening to her during races last year, her main problem is when she loses the front downforce closely following another car. She doesn't like the car moving toward the wall. She runs better low even when the faster drivers are running high. That was with the Nationwide car, mostly.

The new Gen Six car makes 'bump drafting' difficult, and less effective, which will help her Thursday and Sunday. Don't forget she drives in Saturday's Nationwide race too. That's 950 miles in four days, which she did most of last year.

[Mnpaul]

21. I watched them yesterday

Fox's new gyrocam is something else. It remains straight up and down regardless of car position. You really get to see the steep angle of the banking. What remains to be seen is how Danica does when the rest of the cars are on the track. Going fast with one car on the track is relatively easy compared to doing it in a pack of cars doing 190+.

gyrocam in Earnhardt's car at Daytona

[House of Roberts]

22. I don't prefer it for watching the race.

It's OK as a novelty to perceive the angle properly, but I hope it isn't meant for the full race in-car video. I don't like the idea of tilting my head for three hours.

She hasn't seemed skittish about racing in the pack so far. If you go back and look at the Indycar races at Texas, they were running 220 side-by-side and nose-to-tail. Texas was one of her best tracks in Indycar. She had a second and a third there.

[Mnpaul]

23. Indycar is one thing

Nascar is a whole different story

Danica has a problem with crashes in Nascar
2012 Daytona 500
2012 Subway 250
2012 Daytona qualifying race
2012 Phoenix
2012 Indy 250
2012 Casino 400
2012 Bristol
2012 Watkins Glen
2012 Richmond

Qualifying speed means nothing if you can't finish the race

[House of Roberts]

26. OK let's tally up.

33 Nationwide races - Rookie season
10 Cup races - Pre-rookie season

Total of 43 races with 10 wrecks of which only three were her fault *, and even there exists some grey area.

Daytona Gatorade Duel - Almirola came down into her on the last lap. Feb. 24

Daytona 500 wreck in front of her on lap 2. Caused by Jimmy Johnson. Feb. 27

Subway 250 she was hit from behind checking up for trouble ahead of her. July 6

Those were all restrictor plate races.

*Indy 250 She hit Reed Sorenson from behind and he bounced off the wall into her. He may have brake checked her. July 28

Watkins Glen was not her fault, taken out by Ryan Truex's stupid first lap move. Aug 12

Bristol Regan Smith moved up into her. Aug 25

*Richmond was her fault, she said. Pinched Brad Sweet against outside wall. Sept 7

*Casino 400 was probably her fault. She was retaliating against Landon Cassil and they both spun, but she hit the wall. Oct 21

Phoenix was Jeff Burton's doing, next to last lap. Nov. 11

She didn't do that bad, all things considered.

[HooptieWagon]

51. Jeff Gordon tore up a lot of cars his first year.

Its kind of expected from rookies. In IndyCar, Danica was known for taking care of her car, she didn't wreck very often. I would expect the same of her in NASCAR, once she gets more experience.

[SCVDem]

15. Speaking of fast women...

Courtney Force just won the NHRA Funny Car Winternationals championship.

This is her second win and she is in her second year.

There are lots of women in drag racing and they don't play like TMZ.

[Eleanors38]

32. Watched NHRA races in Gainesville since late 60s, and women raced then as well.

[Earth_First]

18. So no inbred redneck NASCAR references?

[frylock]

20. a DU first!

[jambo101]

25. Go Danika,best of luck

[chelsea0011]

28. MSNBC this AM had this story as part of Entertainment News in the bottom scroll line

Not Sports where it belongs.

[Myrina]

29. Milka Duno was on the outside pole for the ARCA race on Saturday ...

.... so, whatever.

I'm going to watch with baited breath whether or not Ms. Patrick is going to choke when the green flag drops and cause another of her many accidents - probably taking out half the field. Only this time she won't have someone else to blame it on (although she'll probably try - oddly enough, whenever she crashes [which is very often] its always the other driver's fault).

I'm a female who grew up with & loves auto racing and think it's far past time women were in the sport, in a serious way. However, I could do without Danica Patrick. All hat & no cattle, as it were.

[Eleanors38]

35. She has a long way to go to catch Shirley M. nt

[Myrina]

39. Yep, and there are several ladies in Nationwide/Trucks/ARCA ...

... who have and are 'paying their dues' - working their way up the ladder the traditional way.

It sorta burns my ass that Patrick, who hasn't done much other than crash and be a snarky celebrity, got a free pass into the pinnacle of the sport basically because of her looks.

[Franker65]

30. Well done to her

I have to admit I find Nascar a bit boring but I'll watch this one with a bit more interest.

[Hugabear]

42. Woman-hating NASCAR fans are already downplaying this

All you have to do is read the comments section for any article about Danica winning the pole position. Filled with comments such as "it's no big deal, nobody cares who gets the pole position" or "lots of nobodies have done that".

Yes, there IS still a large segment of NASCAR fans that are still sexist and bigoted. You'll see plenty of Confederate flags on proud display surrounding many NASCAR events, especially here in the South. For many of them, a woman's place is fetching them another beer. They absolutely cannot stand the notion that a woman - especially a very attractive one - is encroaching on a "man's" sport.

[davidn3600]

46. Best way to shut those people up is to win

She doesn't win.

It's the same grief that Anna Kournikova got. A popular athlete that did lots of modeling shots and marketing her looks, but she never won a major WTA tournament.

Vast majority of the criticism will go away if Danica wins.

[Hugabear]

47. Yes, because if she only finishes in the Top 10, then she's a failure

I suppose a woman can only be accepted if she comes in first place. Meanwhile, male drivers are given much more leeway, and are accepted as "good" if they routinely place in the Top 10 or so.

[davidn3600]

48. But she doesnt finish in the top 10 routinely

Male drivers with her stats are not getting any more respect than she is.

Now she does have added pressure mainly because of the media. She's usually the only woman on the track. So the media (and society) ends up putting a spotlight on her. Every time she is out there, everyone's eyes are watching her. And that is what annoys some people. But that's the media doing that.

[HooptieWagon]

52. If she only averages 10th place,

She'll be near the top of the point standings. Its a long season....every driver is going to have some wrecks, a blown motor or two, and a few bad days. She probably won't remain top ten in points, or make The Chase. But if she finishes in the top 20 in points, that would be a very strong rookie season.

[Eleanors38]

53. Well, I see a lotta hate in this post. nt

[truthisfreedom]

45. I hope she wins.

Good luck Danica!

[itsrobert]

49. Pretty good, 8th place

n/t

[Eleanors38]

50. Yes, considering over 25 cars were on the winning lap.

NASCAR's hard-core will better analyze the final laps where Patrick got caught in traffic and fell back from 4th to 8th. Seemed related to who and when broke away from the upper groove to create a "new" train of drafting cars.