Danica Patrick gets taste of NASCAR at Daytona
December 18, 2009
DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (AP)—IndyCar Series star Danica Patrick turned her first laps in a stock car at Daytona International Speedway on Friday.
Dozens of photographers and reporters followed Patrick’s every move as she completed five laps before rain washed out the Automobile Racing Club of America test.
Patrick said she was “learning a lot and I think it’s going to pay off.” She was scheduled to make her stock car debut in an ARCA race at Daytona in February.
She said her laps around the 2 1/2 -mile (3-kilometer) superspeedway felt “a little slow.” Her top speed was 176.142 mph (283.46 kph), which was about 50 mph (80 kph) off the IndyCar pace at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. She was 12th out of 24 drivers on the Daytona speed chart.
Her biggest problem on Friday? She struggled getting in and out of the car with her helmet on.
Patrick will race a limited stock car schedule in NASCAR’s minor series next year while she competes full-time in IndyCar.
