The 2013 Daytona 500 qualifying session was a historic moment for Danica Patrick as she became the first woman to secure a Cup Series pole position, recording the fastest qualifying lap. Reflecting on that milestone, Tony Stewart recently shared his perspective on how significant that day was not just for Patrick but for Stewart-Haas Racing as well.
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While looking at a photograph from the media center, Stewart reminisced, “I actually got to go to the media center as a owner, not a driver, but I was still in my tri-first uniform. But it was really neat to see the smile on Danica’s face and to get started off on the right foot.”
He continued, explaining the magnitude of the achievement, “What that means to qualify on the front row to the Daytona 500 is huge and to see the excitement on her face and know that we had made history that day. I could just tell it was going to be a lot of fun racing with her.”
22 years and a lifetime of memories 😊 @TonyStewart talks us through some key memories of his time as a driver and owner of @stewarthaasrcng. #Mobil1TheGrid pic.twitter.com/zbyfrxOFCv
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Patrick won the pole position with a lap time of 196.434 mph in a SHR Chevy, marking the high point of her first full season in the Cup Series. The achievement at Daytona stood as the pinnacle of her NASCAR career. Despite starting in the pole position, she managed to finish only in P8 place in the race.
Previously, Patrick had secured a pole in an Xfinity Series race at Daytona in 2012 driving for JR Motorsports. However, in her subsequent five attempts at the Daytona 500, she neither qualified on the front row nor captured another pole position in NASCAR.
After five full seasons in the Cup Series, Patrick decided to shift gears and focus on building her presence as a social media personality dedicated to fitness and health, while also making occasional appearances as a race announcer.
Her competitive racing career concluded with an IndyCar appearance at the Indianapolis 500 in 2018, where her race ended in a crash while she was competing in the middle of the pack.
Patrick always aimed to be recognized as the fastest driver, not just the fastest woman
Despite skepticism from some conspiracy theorists about her pole-winning performance at her first Cup race, Patrick remained unfazed. Critics questioned the legitimacy of her achievement, considering her highly publicized move from IndyCar as the first woman to race full-time in the Cup Series under a three-year contract at Stewart-Haas Racing with GoDaddy sponsorship.
Nonetheless, a Fox Sports ‘ghost car’ replay, which overlaid Jeff Gordon’s qualifying lap over Patrick’s, pinpointed how she took a different line exiting Turn 2—a move crucial for her fast run down the back straight.
Her abilities on ovals weren’t new; she had secured three pole positions for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing during the 2005 IndyCar season.
Reflecting on her historic achievement at Daytona, Patrick expressed,
“I was brought up to be the fastest driver, not the fastest girl. That was instilled in me from very young, from the beginning. I’ve been lucky enough to make history, be the first woman to do many things. I really just hope that I don’t stop doing that. We have a lot more history to make. We are excited to do it.”
As new female drivers like Toni Breidinger and Natalie Decker enter the racing scene, it remains to be seen whether they will be able to surpass Patrick’s records, continuing to redefine the roles for women in motorsports.
