Danica Patrick Makes Sprint Cup History as First Female Pole Winner

Danica Patrick posted the fastest speeds in the final practice session at Daytona International Speedway on Sat, Feb 16th. On Sun, Feb 17th she made history as the first female to win the Daytona 500 Pole position in her 11th Sprint Cup start.  Photo - Jared C Tilton/Getty Images

Danica Patrick posted the fastest speed in the final practice session at Daytona International Speedway on Sat, Feb 16th. On Sun, Feb 17th she made history as the first female to win the Daytona 500 Pole position in her 11th Sprint Cup start.
Photo – Jared C Tilton/Getty Images

Rookie Wins The Coors Light Pole For The Daytona 500

Danica Patrick made NASCAR history today during Coors Light Pole qualifying for the Daytona 500, becoming the first female driver to win a pole at NASCAR’s top level – the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

During qualifying for the sport’s marquee event, Patrick turned a lap of 196.434 mph (45.817 seconds), giving her the first starting position for next Sunday’s Daytona 500 (1 p.m. on FOX, FOX Deportes, Motor Racing Network Radio and SiriusXM Satellite Radio). It was the fastest Daytona 500 pole-winning speed since 1990. Continue reading

Stenhouse Jr. has Eye on Sprint Cup Championship after Nationwide Success

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the #17 Best Buy, stands in the garage during NASCAR Testing at Charlotte Motor Speedway on January 18, 2013 in Charlotte, NC Photo - Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the #17 Best Buy, stands in the garage during NASCAR Testing at Charlotte Motor Speedway on January 18, 2013 in Charlotte, NC
Photo – Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Ricky Stenhouse Jr, a two-time Nationwide Series champion, won’t be returning to defend his back-to-back championships, to make it three in a row this year. Instead, his Nationwide schedule will be partial, as he shifts his focus to the Sprint Cup series. He will be taking over the #17 at Roush-Fenway Racing, where he will be gunning for both the Rookie of the Year and the Sprint Cup series titles.

Stenhouse Jr is not the first driver and certainly not the last either, to campaign for both Rookie of the Year and the Cup title, as every driver that starts their first full season as a rookie is aiming to win both. The last driver to pull off a more successful rookie year was Denny Hamlin in 2006. Hamlin won Rookie of the Year and nearly succeeded in winning the championship before finishing 3rd in the points. Continue reading

When Does The Media Cross The Line?

Danica Patrick, left, talks with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., right, as they wait on pit road during qualifying at Texas Motor Speedway Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012. Photo - Randy Holt/AP

Danica Patrick, left, talks with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., right, as they wait on pit road during qualifying at Texas Motor Speedway Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012. Photo – Randy Holt/AP

Recently, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Danica Patrick announced publicly that they are now dating as they head into their Sprint Cup Rookie seasons. In turn, many members of the media have written about the new relationship between competitors. But this topic raises a question, how far is too far in covering an athlete’s personal life? Where do you draw the line?

Dale Earnhardt Jr. answered this question during a recent commercial shoot with Charlotte Motor Speedway. Continue reading

NASCAR’s Rookies may Rock Headlines in 2013

The 2013 season has a lot to offer with the new G6 cars in the Sprint Cup Series, but what may rock headlines across NASCAR’s top-three divisions’ are the Rookies of Racing.

Among the many signs of revival within NASCAR this year are the rookie classes across their top-three series, Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck series’. Each with Rookie of the Year contenders offering a layer of interest in watching this season’s competition for their respective coveted titles. Continue reading

NASCAR Nuggets from the Net – January 21, 2013

January 20, 2013

January 21, 2013

This is a big week for NASCAR with Media Week kicking off today in Charlotte, NC.

Stay tuned to Fan4Racing for updates as we post coverage throughout the day and this week, along with any other NASCAR news nuggets we find on the net. Continue reading