Danica Patrick Winning Daytona 500 Pole Means Nothing

 

Although the media continues to drone on about Danica Patrick and her pole run, there needs to be a general understanding that the race for pole is in itself an entirely different race, and that pole position does not guarantee race-day success, especially in the biggest race of the NASCAR season, the Daytona 500.

First, a slight lesson on aerodynamics and gearing on restrictor plate tracks. Certain cars sacrifice individual speed for an absolute emphasis on top end speed. A great example of this was the Richard Childress Racing cars of a few years ago who were absolutely terrible solo, but were incredibly effective drafting in the pack.

The sacrifice for a cars individual speed is also dependent on the overall engine and aero package, and therefore larger budget teams such as Stewart-Haas Racing will naturally be faster on the solo run than a smaller team.

Also, there is the statistical aspect of to winning pole. The last driver to win the Daytona 500 from pole was current ESPN NASCAR analyst Dale Jarrett in 2000. Since then, the pole-sitter of the Daytona 500 has had varied results, from Bill Elliott’s fifth place in 2001 to Jeff Burton’s thirty-second place finish in the 2006 Daytona 500. There is also no consistency on where the eventual race winner will come from.

Michael Waltrip won his second Daytona 500 from the fourth position, but Matt Kenseth took the 2009 race from the thirty-ninth spot. Trevor Bayne ushered in the short-lived tandem drafting era by winning from the thirty-second position.

Pole position is even less vital in the pack style of racing. Whereas it is important to avoid the middle of the pack, this can be done from the pole or the back of the field. In the end, it is a crapshoot. There is no way to detect where the winner of the race will come from, the only real thing to do is tune in Sunday and watch as it all unfolds.

Follow Mike Guzman on Twitter @Mike486