Danica Patrick Wins Dayton 500 Pole; First Woman To Win Pole In Any NASCAR Cup Series Race

Danica Patrick beat all the boys at qualifying on Sunday for the Daytona 500, edging Jeff Gordon for the top starting position for next weekend's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series kickoff.

In doing so, she becomes the first woman to ever win a pole in the big leagues of NASCAR, the cup series - in this case, the Sprint Cup Series.

Patrick's average speed of 196.434 mph just bested Gordon.

The Daytona 500 will be the first race of Patrick's first full schedule in the Cup series.

In ten Sprint Cup races in 2012, Danica's best starting position was 23rd (in Atlanta). Her best finish came in her last race of the season, ending 17th at Phoenix.