History was made recently in the build-up to one of the biggest races of the NASCAR season. Danica Patrick secured the pole position for the first race of the 2013 racing year at Daytona, becoming the first woman to do so. At the same time she secured this victory, she also put forth a big step for the progress of women in sports.
Danica Patrick already has made substantial progress for women by being one of the first women to participate alongside men in the same sport. While she is definitely not the only one to do so, as few can forget Hayley Wickenheiser when she joined HC Salamat in the Suomi-Sarja League in Finland. However, Danica stands out by merit of the fact that she has carved out a place in one of the largest sports in within the American mainstream culture in NASCAR.
Danica has more recently been best known for her place behind the wheel of the No. 34 car racing for Turner Scott Motorsports, but her racing career is already well into its prime. Danica is a veteran within the IRL IndyCar Series, and while she wasn’t the first women to race in this sporting event, her presence at the Indy 500 in 2005 definitely garnered attention, as did her subsequent appearances in 2006-2009 . Patrick’s racing career probably hit a high-point when she won the Indy Japan 300 in 2008 when she became the first woman to win an IndyCar Race. Danica disappeared from headlines for a little while after that, not returning until she announced that she taking at chomp at the NASCAR bit in 2010.
Danica had not had a great amount of success in NASCAR until she took home the pole the other at Daytona for the the start of the 2013 season. As mentioned previously, an accomplishment not achieved by a women to-date.
Some have claimed that Danica has an unfair advantage in the race car circuit because of her relatively low body weight (I’m looking at you Robby Gordon). This is does play a bit of a factor, for sure – but, I think men also have an advantage in the relatively denser level of muscle mass that they have in the racing world. Anyone who doesn’t think that it takes some muscle strength to control a car moving at over 200 mph doesn’t know anything about racing. Top racers like, Tony Stewart, have welcomed her presence on the NASCAR circuit.
For me personally, I also welcome Danica. NASCAR is one of the few sports where I truly feel that gender should present no barrier. As I stated, there is a certain physical component that comes into play – but, prowess and sound mind are the two most important components. I think Patrick has been a true trailblazer by not allowing herself to be held back by preconceived notions that society throws on her. We have the WNBA, we have Women’s MMA, we have women hockey leagues. Danica has the unique opportunity to be on the headlines of sporting news given the size of the sport that she is in. Success on the track or not, she does stand for something that all women should aspire to be.
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Photo Credit: Kevin J. Kelly – http://www.flickr.com/photos/watermarked_photography/3705864512/
