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Danica Patrick on Friday briefly captured the pole position for her first stock-car race as a throng of media members on pit lane nearly outnumbered fans in the mostly vacant grandstands at
Daytona International Speedway.
Patrick -- the popular IndyCar Series driver who’s trying her hand at stock-car racing -- was the 10th of 52 drivers trying to qualify for the ARCA Series race Saturday. ARCA is a
developmental series separate from the far bigger NASCAR, and Patrick plans to jump to NASCAR’s Nationwide Series later this month.
She clocked a lap of 179.788 mph in her No. 7 Chevrolet on the high-banked, 2.5-mile track that was good enough to claim the pole, but only a few minutes later other drivers began posting
faster laps.
Patrick ultimately qualified 11th in the race’s 43-car field, while James Buescher won the pole with a speed of 181.543 mph.
‘I’ve enjoyed the whole process,’ Patrick said after climbing from her car, a gaggle of photographers following her every move. ‘It would be great if I stayed up front there, but it might
not happen, and if it doesn’t, I’m not going to get mad; we’ve got 80 laps of running’ in the race.
‘I’m really looking forward to tomorrow,’ she said. ‘I don’t think it’s going to be easy, but I think it’s going to be fun.’
Patrick is driving a car prepared by JR Motorsports, which is co-owned by star NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Patrick’s crew chief is Earnhardt’s cousin, Tony Eury Jr., who formerly
was crew chief for Earnhardt’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car.