Posted on 02/17/2013 12:43:17 PM PST by Libloather
Danica Patrick backed up her fast practice speeds during NASCAR Sprint Cup Daytona 500 qualifying on Sunday, taking the pole position for the race.
Patrick was the eighth to go out in the session — and knocked teammate and Stewart-Haas Racing team co-owner Tony Stewart out of the pole position. Patrick's qualifying lap of 196.434 mph eclipsed the 195.925 mph lap of Stewart.
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I doubt racing scares her. I'd guess the physical load drains her. That sort of thing can slow reaction time appreciably.
You are wrong, sir. I have watched her side by side wheel in wheel at Homestead and was skeptical until I saw her doing 30 second laps with the rest of the guys. You can’t “rub” in Indy cars so she had some gettin’ used to with the fendered cars. Big change going from an 1800 pound missile to a 3500 pound brick. Although doing it at roughly the same speeds.
Have you ever been on the Daytona Track tour? We took it once....that is ONE REALLY HUGE BANK...it was scary to look at...can’t imagine driving it with a bunch of other cars...
She ran side-by-side at 220+ mph in open cockpit cars. Why would she be scared at under 200 mph in an enclosed racecar?
She has better form than Pres__ent Obama...
I dunno... because the closed cars are heavier? And in some cases driven by guys who will TRY to hit you?
And side-by-side running in IndyCar mostly happens on ovals, although in those cars there’s a lot more chance of going airborne if they lock wheels. She spent very little time running side-by-side with anyone in IndyCar on road courses, unless she was being lapped. I was actually a bit surprised that she had such a hard time with road courses given that they were all she ran on in her Toyota Atlantic days...
A first lap pile-up is more likely.
Is a restrictor plate akin to a chastity belt??
As the 43 cars start the race, closer to the front is where I would want to be. I think that within the first 10-15 laps, a wreck that takes out 10+ cars will happen. I don’t think she’ll win the race - but I hope she does well and finishes top 10. Her, and Dale Jr. - NASCAR needs these two to do well and be relevant this season.
I won’t pretend to be a huge race fan, but living in Indianapolis, I do catch a thing or two. I also can’t spout Danica statistics, but in my perception, she gets nervous when she’s racing in a group of cars. The open-wheeled cars have much more down force; the NASCAR vehicles get a little “loose” when cars are directly behind you-which is typical of the Daytona-style races. I think she’ll get squeamish when it happens, and will drop back, or cause the first “big one” at Daytona 2013.
Just as long as NASCAR doesn’t require parallel parking to win she’ll be OK.
That’s no problem. Sprint Cup cars have power steering!
Danica has admitted to doing that and was not punished by NASCAR
I know you were joking, but when you think about it a NASCAR race sort of does require parallel parking. And it’s a somewhat critical skill when a driver pits during a safety car period along with everyone else and his dog.
They added the restrictor plates since 1988 for Daytona and Talladega super speedways. During high-speed spins the cars were getting airborne and only luck kept them from punching through the fencing and going into the grandstands. The flaps that flip up when they spin were added for the same reasons. I think 204 mph was the Daytona record for qualifying before the restrictor plates were added. They sometimes get airborne in the current confguration.
She likes to go fast, you’d probably get hurt.
It’ll be like the guy at the front of the Boston Marathon... tripping.
“Poles are for strippers”
Sarah makes more sense than all other pols....
204mph sounds about right for the Daytona lap record. And Talladega was even faster; Bill Elliott pulled a 212.7mph lap in qualifying for one of the 1987 races there.
Given the extra twenty-plus years of engine and aero development on Cup cars, I wouldn’t be surprised to see one turn 220mph laps at ‘Dega with an unrestricted engine. Which is probably why it wouldn’t be a good idea; I suspect the day one of those cars clears a catch fence and lands in a grandstand will be the day motorsports dies in this country.
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