Daytona 500: Danica Patrick Can Break Ground for Women’s Sports with Victory

At the risk of sounding slightly hyperbolic, this weekend has the potential to fundamentally alter the prism through which we view women's sports. As most know, Danica Patrick sits on the pole for this Sunday's Daytona 500. Her average speed of 196.434 mph defeated legendary driver Jeff Gordon by .142 mph, and she will become the first woman to ever start first on NASCAR's top circuit.In fact, no woman had ever even come close to qualifying this high prior to Patrick. The previous record holder, Janet Guthrie, qualified 18th for the Daytona 500 and also set the Sprint Cup overall mark with a ninth-place start.With Patrick also being seen regularly atop the leaderboard during practice, she has ascended from "after th...

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