Two practice sessions into her first full-season in the Sprint Cup Series, it’s been all success for high profile rookie Danica Patrick.
Saturday at the Daytona International Speedway it was Patrick atop the board in qualifying practice, second behind Joey Logano in the first session before leading the second session later in the day.
“It feels good, it does. There is a lot of year left and we are going to have a lot of challenging weekends,” said Patrick afterwards about coming out of the gate fast. “I have no doubt about it. But, we need to enjoy the good ones. So far this has been a good one.
“There is no better place to have a good race than the very first one of the year. It sets the tone and gives the guys confidence and after we go away a good memory, which is nice to have too. So far so good for us, however, all the stuff that counts is what’s next. Hopefully, that keeps going in the way that is has already.”
The newest addition to the NSCS and Stewart-Haas Racing brings plenty of attention with her, even more so the faster she is on track. So far, so good in the speed department as Patrick has been one to watch and she believes crew chief Tony Gibson is the reason why.
He’s dead serious, she said, about winning poles and giving her the fastest car he can, along with a team who has the confidence to go out and become just the fourth rookie team – first since Jimmie Johnson in 2002 – to start the Daytona 500 on the pole.
Qualifying for the 55th annual Daytona 500 takes place on Sunday afternoon. Patrick will be the eighth of 45 drivers to take time. In order to secure her spot for the year’s biggest race, she needs to qualify either on the front row or finish well enough in her Budweiser Duel race on Thursday.
“Everything that we do is to make sure that we do whatever we can to be on the pole tomorrow,” Patrick noted.
“That is what we are shooting for. Tomorrow is a whole other day. You’ve got to hope that the weather stays very consistent or perhaps better at the beginning when I’m going to go than at the end. All those things play into it.”
While she’s eligible to run for Rookie of the Year this season, and will do so against two-time Nationwide Series champion and boyfriend Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Patrick is no rookie to the 500. Last season in her debut she started 29th but finished 38th after being caught up in the big wreck on lap two.
Her outlook on not only the season, but Speedweeks this year around are much different. Feeling much more prepared and having things going smoothly, Patrick’s mentality is about more than just surviving and logging laps, pole contention is within reach.
“It would be really nice. It is a very big pole of all of them in the year for attention,” she said on Saturday. “Especially for GoDaddy who is on the car, people like that, that is who that helps the most. There are other races throughout the year that as a driver you feel maybe more pleased or proud of yourself to get.
“This one is a whole team effort. I know I don’t give much credit to myself about driving and turning left. And that is true; it’s very much about the car and the engine. It is a team effort I understand that, the driver can make tiny little differences out there, be smooth, and nail your shifts and being smooth with the wheel.
“The pole at Daytona is very much a team pole.”
