Danica Patrick will not make history today, as she has crashed on the 48th lap of the Drive4COPD 300 at Daytona. Patrick, who started from the pole, was bidding to become the first woman to win in one of NASCAR's major divisions.
The crash occured when Patrick was recieving a bump draft from teammate Cole Whitt entering the third turn. Patrick's Chevrolet spun onto the apron, then shot back up the hill and impacted the wall. The right-front corner of her machine is heavilly bent, likely ending her day and for certain ending any shot she had of opening her first full season in NASCAR's second-tier division with a solid finish.
The event has, like most races this week, featured a combination of pack racing and the so-called "tandem draft" where two cars are hooked together, pushing. Tandems have led the race, but the pack has been able to keep close touch with the race leaders. There has not been a single dominant car, with Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart sharing the majority of the laps led and Dale Earnhardt Jr., Patrick - before her accident - Mike Bliss, and Trevor Bayne also taking turns at the front.