On Sunday, Feb. 17, Danica Patrick won the pole position for NASCAR’s Daytona 500 by posting the fastest lap of 196.434 mph. This marked a historic milestone in the Great American Race as Patrick became the first female to qualify from the pole position. Despite all that, I can’t help but think it’s not that big of a deal.
My first thought is that there really isn’t much hype about her accomplishment. ESPN may be reporting about her non-stop, but the average sports fan doesn’t particularly care that much, if at all, about Patrick’s pole. Danica Patrick’s name has not been brought up once in casual conversation about the sports world this past week. Personally, I don’t think I’m alone here. ESPN is great at creating hype and stories, and I think they’re to blame, just like this past summer when Sal Paolantonio reported live from Florham Park, N.J. every time Tebow participated in a 7-on-7 drill. Granted, Tebow is a bigger star than Patrick, but as much as people care about him, they don’t need to be informed on every time he drinks a Gatorade. ESPN has once again blown a story completely out of proportion.
Fortunately, Patrick has said all the right things, much like Tebow.
“I was brought up to be the fastest driver, not the fastest girl,” Patrick said to a group of reporters after winning the pole.
She’s exactly right. There is no prize for being the fastest driver; she is just another driver out on the track who happens to be a woman.
Patrick’s pole also should not be celebrated the way it has been considering it should not be the end all, be all of her career. Despite racing in IndyCar series and NASCAR’s Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series, Patrick has only one win, which came in Japan in 2008. Her NASCAR career has been even more lackluster. She has no wins, and her only pole came last year, also in Daytona, qualifying for the Nationwide Series race. When Patrick started on the pole in Daytona last year, she finished 38 out of 43 cars. Her impressive qualifying numbers have shown to be meaningless in previous races.
It’s not just Patrick who has not used her pole position to her advantage. Dale Jarrett was the last driver to win the Daytona 500 from the pole position all the way back in 2000. In recent races, drivers from the back of the pack ended up on Victory Lane. In 2009, Matt Kenseth started the race in dead last and won. And in 2011, unknown rookie Trevor Bayne won the Daytona 500 by leading just the final lap and starting back in 32nd.
Patrick doesn’t have to win the race in order to gain respect of her fellow drivers and fans. A top-ten finish would serve her well, considering she is still a relatively young driver on the NASCAR scene. The problem is, her name carries a lot of weight and she is expected to be contending with the other stars on the circuit. If she and her team can remain focused and continue to improve, she can become a driver known for being a good driver and not just for being a woman. Until then, Patrick is just the Kim Kardashian of sports. She’s famous just because she’s famous, not for actual accomplishments.