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View Full Version : If Patrick wrecks in tomorrow's qualifier...

Bryan85
02-20-2013, 04:57 PM
or blows a motor, will she be required to start in the back for The 500 and hence, not be starting on the pole?

If so, it seems very odd to me that the person who is already on the pole is still required to run in a race that sets the qualifying for everyone except the 2 teams that are already qualified.
G8rNkoko
02-21-2013, 11:15 AM
No, no matter what happens in the 125 miler, she will be on the pole. She and Jeff Gordon will be on the front row on Sunday. The Daytona 500 is unique in that respect and is the only NASCAR race with qualifier races. All of the other races have just a time based qualifying session.
David Shepherd
02-21-2013, 02:03 PM
Actually if she crashes or loses an engine she will parade on the pole, but before the green flag drops she will have to go to the back of the field.

No matter what happens she will be the pole winner and get the honors for that, even if she does have to go to the back.

To answer the first question, the only thing to be gained by racing is experience and the competition. I don't know how hard her and Gordon will race.
David Shepherd
02-21-2013, 02:08 PM
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- When Danica Patrick (http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/driver?seriesId=2&driverId=697) sat down in the media center after her historic Daytona 500 pole-winning effort, she was asked what the plan was for her Budweiser Duel qualifying race Thursday.
Patrick looked puzzled. She turned to her crew chief, Tony Gibson.


"I have no idea," Patrick said. "Tony, what am I supposed to do?"
Gibson: "Don't put yourself in any bad positions."

Sound advice, but not so easy to follow.

The two Daytona 500 qualifying races are NASCAR's version of a catch-22. It's 60 laps (150 miles) of weighing your options. You want to race hard and try to win, but not so hard that you risk wrecking your best car before the big race.

It's especially true for the drivers who start first in each race. The two fastest drivers from Pole

If they wreck their primary car in their Duel race and have to go to a backup car, they will start in the back for the 500. That's true for any driver, but it's extra painful if you throw away a front-row spot.