Sports

Danica in pole position at Daytona

Before last Sunday, the biggest story surrounding Danica Patrick had been her budding romance with fellow driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. This Sunday, it will be about her chance to make history.

A week after Patrick became the first woman to capture the pole for a NASCAR Sprint Cup event — at the Daytona 500, no less — she will try to win the biggest race in sports. Fox analyst Darrell Waltrip thinks she is capable.

“I had a meeting with her the other afternoon and I told her, ‘Danica, it’s time to perform. You’ve been down here a couple of years, you’ve learned the culture, learned the ropes, you know what these tracks are like, what these cars are like and now it’s time to take advantage of all that and take advantage of what you learned,’ ” Waltrip said. “She was pretty impressive on Sunday when she won the pole.”

Less impressive was Patrick’s rookie season when, in 10 races, her best finish was 17th in the AdvoCare 500. But Waltrip expects her to build on that experience, and starting from the first row, alongside Jeff Gordon, has helped build even more hype for the highly touted kickoff to the season.

“I think all of us are smart enough to recognize that she draws attention to our sport and, in a sponsored-driven sport where we have to have outside resources, if people are talking about it, that’s good for everybody,” said Waltrip, the 1989 Daytona 500 champion. “I turn on the TV and they are still talking about her being on the pole. That’s a good thing. That’s a win-win for all of us.”

Patrick brought similar attention to the IndyCar Series and the Indy 500, where she had six top-10 finishes in seven attempts. She was not nearly as successful last year, when she debuted at Daytona with a 38th-place finish that was cemented during a second-lap crash with Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch, David Ragan and 2011 champ Trevor Bayne.

The expectations are much higher this year. Even so, Patrick is not considered among the favorites for the unpredictable race.

“It’s the biggest moment of her career and the probably the biggest moment of her life, to tell you the truth. … To lead the field of 43 of the greatest drivers in the world, that’s a big moment in her life and it’s a lot of pressure,” Waltrip said. “But she knows it, she’s used to the spotlight and she’s used to that. I don’t think it bothers her. She’s a very composed young lady, she listens and she learns. Sunday is her chance to show people what she’s learned and what she can do.”

A woman being on the pole is not the only new thing about this Daytona 500 or NASCAR season. It also features the debut of the Gen 6 car, which brings a “show room” quality to the automobile and more brand identity. But it has led to several crashes during practice and in the Sprint Ultimate race Saturday.

“We come into this week down here in the 500 with a lot of questions,” Waltrip said. “We’ve answered a few, but we still have to get the cars out there and big packs and making a lot of laps like we like. … So there’s a lot of apprehension when we get all the cars out here together.”