It was a beautiful day on November 5th, 2000. I remember that day very clearly. It was my FIRST ever NASCAR race. I was so excited. I was 8 years old and I had an obsession with rainbows, hence why I was a Jeff Gordon fan. I remember seeing all of the fans anxious in anticipation for the green flag to drop. I could hear the track announcer mentioning something about Rusty Wallace. I only assumed that he was starting on the pole, which he was.

There was so much action! There were at least 5-6 drivers that had a chance to win that race from the way the lead kept changing hands. Jeff Burton was the class of the field for most of the day, but guys like Jeremy Mayfield, Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin, and Ricky Rudd also had pretty solid cars. Unfortunately for Rudd, he had some sort of issue and wound up like 37th. It was my older brother’s first time at a race, and it was for my mother as well. She was really funny. She asked so many questions, but she would always ask me because of course NASCAR was and still today is my obsession. I’m in love with it. I thought it was annoying at first, but later on it would prove to be a defining moment in my life.

I had never had so much fun in my entire life. Wow! This is what it feels like to be a true NASCAR fan. I was sitting on the backstretch seats that Phoenix used to have and it amazed me at the representation of drivers you saw out there. I was so amazed that I saw the Labonte fans, the Gordon fans, and the Stewart fans for example. Bobby fans were booing Terry, and Terry fans were booing Bobby. I was like, “These fans are competitive as well.”

But nothing meant more than after the race walking back to the car. It was a zoo. That’s for sure. We were all in a pack with some other fans that were just leaving and no one was paying attention, but someone in a golf cart was slowly driving past us. It was Dale Earnhardt. No one even noticed him. I didn’t even notice him, but the person that I taught about NASCAR earlier in the race, did. That was my mom. She said, “Hi, Dale Earnhardt.” Everyone just stopped as if zombies had invaded the Earth, then everyone looked up and screamed at the top of their lungs. Dale was surprised and got all red and smiled that smile that so many people in NASCAR have had a privilege to see. I didn’t like Dale before that race. I thought he was just a dirty old man, but after that I realized that he was just like any other person. That was when I became a Dale Earnhardt fan. And it was on November 5, 2000 that I came face to face with the greatest driver that NASCAR has ever seen. Dale Earnhardt was a driver on the track, but the next day he was your next door neighbor.

NASCAR fans since the inception of the sport have long had their favorite drivers and ones they respect and admire. Win or lose fans would stick with their favorites through the best and worst of times. Richard Petty had one of the sport’s biggest fan bases throughout his racing career. The King won 7 Winston Cup championships and 200 races over his illustrious 35 year career and seemingly never met much fan opposition to his domination of the sport.

Dale Earnhardt also had one of the sport’s most loyal and massive fan bases. Like Petty, Earnhardt won 7 championships over his 27 year career and grandstands from Daytona to Talladega would come alive when Earnhardt wheeled his famed black #3 Chevrolet across the start/finish line to take the checkers.

The names Petty and Earnhardt are considered to be royalty among all NASCAR fans and rightfully so. Their accomplishments speak for themselves. But when you look at today’s NASCAR that kind of dominance seems to be less well received. In fact NASCAR’s fan base seems to shy away from those drivers who seemingly win every race and are always in contention for a championship. Maybe it is something else. Could it also be the fact that NASCAR has become more politically correct in the era of major corporate sponsorship and driver endorsements. Why is the dominance of some of today’s stars not as universally accepted as what the dominance of Petty and Earnhardt was?

One example of this is Jeff Gordon. No one dominated the 90’s like Gordon who won 49 races and 3 championships in that decade. Crowds from coast to coast would grumble as Gordon would seemingly dominate race after race, week after week. Another example is Jimmie Johnson, the man who has dominated the last decade by winning 60 races and 5 championships. The mere mention of Johnson’s name drives some of NASCAR’s fan base absolutely crazy. My only question has to be Why? Drivers like Gordon and Johnson don’t come around very often. I think it is safe to say we will never again see two drivers dominate the sport at as high of level as what they have in the modern era of NASCAR.

As impressive as their on track performance has been nothing compares to what they do off the track with their charitable organizations and many other worthwhile causes. But still the vast majority of NASCAR’s fan base can’t fully warm up to them. So that begs the question. What do NASCAR fans look for in a driver? It seems like winning races has taken a back seat to other factors and variables in today’s NASCAR.

Kyle Busch is another name that draws race fans ire. Kyle’s competitive and aggressive nature behind the wheel is a throwback to the days of old but in the eyes of many race fans it is something they can do without but are the first to complain if drivers aren’t aggressive enough behind the wheel.

Brad Keselowski seems to be closest thing to old school in a new school NASCAR but not even Brad who is quickly growing one of NASCAR’s biggest fan bases can get the majority of the fan base to widely accept him on or off the track. Keselowski seems to be a young man who is genuinely devoted to the growth of the sport but seems to always to find a way to rub someone in the wrong way to the eyes of many.

I guess the question is what does the NASCAR fan base want? Do they want a driver who may not win races but is a nice guy and that carries more weight than anything or do they want a driver that wins races and carries himself in a professional manner on and off the track. It is sometimes hard to put your fingers on the pulse of this sport. Fans want aggressive but quickly shun those who turn the intensity up a notch. Fans used to love a winner but now winning seems to be growing less and less important while the battles at the merchandise trailers seem to be now what matters and what determines who has the biggest fan bases. You will get many different answers as to why fans root for certain drivers and may not others. Could be race team,car owner,manufacturer, sponsor,race wins,championships, and etc. One thing is for sure the old saying “Winning never gets old” doesn’t apply to a vast majority of today’s NASCAR fans.

Back in January, at pre-season testing at Daytona, Danica Patrick showed she had a fast race car. The question that remained was could she back up what she ran at the pre- season test? On a sun splashed Sunday afternoon at the Daytona International Speedway she answered that question in historical fashion.

Going out 8th in the qualifying order, Patrick rocketed around the 2.5 mile speedway at a speed of 196.434 MPH. The 2nd fastest restrictor plate lap in speedway history. Only Jeff Gordon proved to be any kind of threat to Patrick and history, just missing the pole by .033 seconds. Patrick’s pole winning lap was the first by a woman in NASCAR’s premier series.

In the grand scheme of the spectrum what does this moment mean for NASCAR and Motor Sports in general? Whether you want to admit it or not it means everything. On Sunday afternoon when the field takes the green flag for the Daytona 500. Millions will be glued to their TV sets and many of those will be viewers that have never watched a single lap of a NASCAR race. Why, you ask. It is because a female will lead the field to the green flag in the biggest of the year on NASCAR’s biggest stage.

An even bigger question is now what are the expectations for Patrick heading into the Daytona 500? For many it could be now that she has won the pole she must deliver in the race. But that is not the case here. Patrick has already exceeded the expectations placed upon her heading into speed weeks at Daytona. Now it is just about achieving goals one small step at a time. That means leading laps and scoring solid finishes. Winning races,top 5’s, and top 10’s will come as for right now it is all about confidence while still adjusting to stock cars from the open wheel ranks. Maybe this pole at Daytona isn’t such a big surprise after all. After all she has led laps on Indy Car’s biggest stage the Indianapolis 500. A race she very nearly won in 2005.

On Sunday afternoon at Daytona where Patrick finishes the Daytona 500 won’t be the big story. The big story has already been written. Patrick’s run with history during qualifying now could possibly set the stage for other women in the sport such as Johanna Long and Jennifer Jo Cobb to get opportunities with top race teams. Danica is proving that women can compete in a world that has always been dominated by men. Whether she wins the Daytona 500 or not is irrelevant this weekend. What truly matters is the barriers that held women in Motor Sports back are now being broken. Look for the ladies of NASCAR to now become major players in the sport and blaze trails for others to follow. NASCAR is no longer a game for just the boys. The girls are showing that they are more than capable of not only competing with the boys but beating them as well. The Daytona 500 just took on a whole new significance with just one lap on Sunday afternoon.