Danica Patrick’s hot start to 2013 is no fluke.
The Stewart-Haas driver showed she’s more than capable of running with the rest of the pack on Sunday, notching the first Coors Light Pole by a woman in Sprint Cup Series history during qualifying for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in just her 11th career start. For the 11th consecutive year, there is a different pole sitter for the Daytona 500.
Patrick’s qualifying time of 45.817 seconds positioned her atop the leaderboard early in the day and her top speed of 196.434 mph is the fastest Daytona 500 qualifying speed since Ken Schrader’s Chevrolet topped out at 196.515 in 1990. The driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet also becomes the first Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate to win the Daytona 500 pole since Jimmie Johnson in 2002 and the first woman to qualify for The Sprint Unlimited.
