The critics can say all they want but that will not change the truth. Danica Patrick will start on pole position for the 2013 Daytona 500. Her first career pole comes in her 11th start and improves on a previous best starting position of 23rd last September at Atlanta.
Patrick is the first women to win a pole in a NASCAR Cup Series event and only adds to her list of firsts for women in motorsports. Her firsts for women in IndyCar include a win at Motegi in 2008, starting fourth in the Indianapolis 500, finishing 3rd in the Indianapolis 500, first woman to lead a lap in the Indianapolis 500 and Rookie of the Year in the 2005 Indianapolis 500. Not to forget her career stats of three IndyCar poles, 7 podiums, 20 top-fives and 63 top-tens.
However there are still critics who find fallacies with all of Patrick's accomplishments. They will say this pole came at restrictor plate race and that is true. But she still won the pole. The same type of opinions came out about her win a Motegi. That she won a race with a split field (remember the recently united ChampCar teams were running Long Beach that weekend and it was the final ChampCar race) on fuel mileage in a foreign land. A win is a win, no matter how you spin it and a pole is a pole no matter how you spin it.
There is still a race to run and everyone knows that. This pole does not guarantee success in the race and winning from pole in the Daytona 500 has only happened in 9 of the 54 editions of the race. I'd like to congratulate Danica Patrick on her first career pole position and look forward to the Duels on Thursday.
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