Danica Patrick Enters Bristol Fourth in Points Standings, Gets Knocked Back
Danica Patrick, who has been trying to prove her whole career that she belongs with the big boys, had started off the 2011 season in impressive fashion, finishing a career-high fourth in Las Vegas two weeks ago.
That solid start ended on Saturday, however, qualifying 29th for the Scotts EZ Seed 300 Nationwide Series race.
After a speeding penalty on Lap 203, Patrick lost control of her car on Lap 247 after her and Ryan Truex were racing neck-and-neck.
Patrick was in the top 15 before the two setbacks and she now stands at ninth place in the NASCAR points standings.
This could be Patrick’s biggest chance yet of placing highly in the final standings at the end of the season.
Of course, there’s a lot of races left, but Patrick has set herself up for her best finish in her career and a top placing undoubtedly would boost her reputation on the track.
Patrick has already shown she belongs on the track, but whether she belongs as a legitimate top racers at NASCAR is a different story.
She’s undoubtedly the most important woman ever to race in NASCAR, but if she really wants to surpass boundaries and change the sport’s once-prominent prejudice toward women, she’s going to have to do more, and I think she knows that.
Her impact is obvious, she has opened doors no woman before her ever has, and that in itself is an accomplishment.
But she has the chance to do more, and don’t think she doesn’t know that.
Beyond her controversial Go Daddy ads is an individual with tremendous desire and passion for the sport.
Whether this translates into a better finish in 2011 is up to her.