Unlike the relentless wave of notoriety that escorted her into stock car racing, Danica Patrick's visit to the top of the scoring pylon Friday at Daytona International Speedway was all too fleeting.
The 10th driver to make a qualifying run for Saturday's Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 ARCA race at the 2.5-mile track, Patrick claimed the provisional pole at 179.788 mph. Before she finished her interview on pit road, however, Penske Development driver Dakoda Armstrong had knocked Patrick from the top spot.
After all 47 drivers had taken their respective shots, Patrick held the 12th starting position for her much-heralded stock car racing debut, scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday. Defending race winner James Buescher will start from the pole after a lap at 181.543 mph.
Patrick ran the top of the track during the first of her two laps. For the lap that counted - the second - she tried to hug the yellow line at the bottom of the speedway.
"It felt good, and I felt like I could really keep it down on the yellow line," Patrick said after climbing from the car and debriefing with crew chief Tony Eury Jr. "I lost it just a bit - I was up just a little bit in (Turns) 3 and 4, but I think that, overall, we picked the right gear, and we made the car better in practice, and we actually did work on the car yesterday in practice - it wasn't right.
"Tony's done a great job. They told me what to do. It's pretty straightforward. You run it on the top, drop it down low and keep it on the line. I'm sure it'll be much harder at most other tracks."
Patrick said her comfort level will determine how she'll run the race - whether she'll drop back at the start and feel out the car in her first competitive run.
"My tendency as a driver is to make sure that I learn and finish the race and get the most out of my car, and if I'm not sure where that limit is, I'm not going to overstep my bounds," Patrick said. "I make no progress if I go out there and lose it on the first lap. If I feel comfortable, I'm sure I'll stay right where I'm at, and if I don't feel comfortable, I'll have to work my way back up."
To Eury, seeing Patrick on the pole, albeit briefly, was gratifying.
"It was pretty cool to see her get up there, but I'd rather see her sitting up there when we win the race on Saturday," Eury said. "We'll just have to see how things play out."
Eury said Patrick's comfort level also will determine whether she'll compete in next Saturday's Drive4COPD 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race.
"Just if she's comfortable - that's the bottom line," Eury said. "It's not us out there that's got to drive. I just want her to feel comfortable with what she's doing, so she can react to things, so that she knows how the draft will work.
"If she feels comfortable, then I'd be more than happy to come down here with her, but I'd rather for it to be her choice."
Though Saturday's race will set TV viewership records for an ARCA event - thanks to Patrick's presence in the field - Buescher doesn't plan to give Patrick - one of six women in the field - special treatment.
"She's just another driver in the field and that's how you have to look at it," Buescher said. "Hopefully everyone in our race stays smart and no one over-drives, trying to impress the large audience we'll have for this race."
