Danica Patrick becomes first woman to win Nascar Pole

London: Top Nascar driver and model Danica Patrick has become the first woman to achieve pole position for a cup race.

She covered the 2.5 mile superspeedway in Florida’s Daytona Beach in 45.817 seconds, averaging 196.4mph. According to Sky News, the winning time secured Patrick’s entry to the prestigious Daytona 500 that is next week. Patrick, who is one of Nascar’s most high-profile stars, said that winning the pole was a really big deal because qualifying for the Daytona 500 is a really interesting thing. She had to wait for around two hours as 37 fellow drivers tried to take her spot. Only four-time champion Jeff Gordon came close, and won the only other guaranteed spot in the season-opening race. Patrick was considered the front-runner for pole position after turning in the fastest laps in practice on Saturday, the report said. The previous highest female qualifier in a cup race was Janet Guthrie. She started ninth in two races in 1977, it added. ANI