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Glamour racer ... Danica Patrick beats the boys to the pole at Daytona. Source:AP
NASCAR star Danica Patrick, a staple of TV ads and glossy magazines, is now in the history books.
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Patrick, who has parlayed her glamourous good looks into millions of sponsorship backing, on Sunday became the first woman to take the pole position for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.
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"I was brought up to be the fastest driver, not the fastest girl," Patrick said. "That was instilled in me from very young, from the beginning. Then I feel like thriving in those moments, where the pressure's on, has also been a help for me. I also feel like I've been lucky in my career to be with good teams and have good people around me. I don't think any of it would have been possible without that.
"For those reasons, 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."
Patrick's first feeling upon learning she had won the pole?
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"Pride," she said. "I'm proud of all the hard work that goes into making a pole-winning car. It's not just turning left.
"It's so many other things, including the attention of detail the guys on the team put in over the winter."
Jeff Gordon was fastest man, Trevor Bayne qualified third, Ryan Newman was fourth and Tony Stewart fifth as Stewart-Haas Racing placed all three cars in the top-five.
Before Sunday, almost all of the attention which surrounded Patrick since her arrival Thursday at Daytona was about her budding romance with fellow Cup rookie Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Sunday's run turned the topic back to the approaching 500 - for now.
"The race is where it's really at to get to the end and to have a fast car and be in the right place at the right time.
But this just speaks volumes about Stewart-Haas racing,'' Patrick said.
"I thought we were going to be one-two-three, for a while. But I think it shows what a great organisation it is and when you put a good group of people together what can happen.''
Starting up front at Daytona is not new for Patrick.
She won the pole for the Nationwide Series season opener at Daytona last year. The only other woman to win a pole in one of NASCARA's three national series was Shawna Robinson in a Nationwide race at Atlanta in 1994.
Also, Patrick had one of the fastest cars during preseason testing last month and was fastest in Friday's second Cup practice session.
"I was brought up to be the fastest driver, not the fastest girl," she said.
Winning the pole at any superspeedway race usually has little to do with the actual racing, but Patrick's milestone was still an important moment for NASCAR.
Gordon's daughter, Ella Sophia, asked for and received a photo with Patrick in Victory Lane during her pole-winning award ceremony.
"It's great to be a part of history to be on the front row with Danica. We all know how popular she is," Gordon said.
"This is big to be on the front row at Daytona. It's an accomplishment in itself because of all the hard work that's put into it."
The previous highest female qualifier in a Cup race was Janet Guthrie. She started ninth at Bristol and Talladega in 1977.
"It's obviously a history-making event that will last a long, long time," Guthrie said, praising Patrick's feat. "It's a different era, of course. Different times. I can't imagine what I would do with a spotter or somebody telling me how to drive. It's rather a different sport now. Back then, there was a much greater difference from the front of the field to the back."
Guthrie received a lukewarm reception from fellow drivers back then.
Patrick was much more welcomed, undoubtedly because of her background and popularity.
She's comfortable being in the spotlight, evidenced by her racing career, her television commercials and her sudden openness about her personal life.
"I think when pressure's on and when the spotlight's on, I feel like it ultimately ends up becoming some of my better moments and my better races and better results," Patrick said. "I just understand that if you put the hard work in before you go out there that you can have a little peace and a little peace of mind knowing that you've done everything you can and just let it happen."
Catch all the action from the Budweiser Duels at Daytona, Feb 22 at 6am EDT exclusively LIVE on SPEED (512).
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