Danica Patrick didn’t get the win, but she still made more history and turned some heads at Nascar’s biggest event.
Jimmie Johnson held off Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the win, his second at the Daytona 500. Mark Martin finished third. Johnson was making his 400th career Sprint Cup series start.
Patrick was third going into the final lap but started to fade coming down the stretch. She finished 8th and now has top ten finishes at Daytona and the Indy 500.
Patrick led the 90th and 91st laps becoming the first woman in history to lead laps in the Daytona 500. Her finish at the Great American race is also the best finish by a woman in Daytona 500 history.
“It was nice to lead later in the race, to do that,” said Patrick. ” I didn’t feel like it was a wise idea to drop low and figure out how to pass.”
