List of women in Daytona 500 a short one

By Al Pearce, Crain News Service

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 20, 2013) — Danica Patrick on Feb. 17 became the first woman to win the pole for the Daytona 500 race — but she's not the first woman to run the 500.

Janet Guthrie was the first woman in the Daytona 500, racing in 1977 for team owner Lynda Ferreri and sponsor Kelly Girl. She started 39th and finished 12th in a Chevrolet, 12 laps behind winner Cale Yarborough. She also raced in 1980 for Texaco and owner Rod Osterlund, starting 18th and finishing 11th in a Chevy, seven laps behind winner Buddy Baker.

Shawna Robinson ran her only 500 in 2002, in a Dodge for BAM Racing and owner Beth Ann Morgenthau. She started 36th and finished 24th, and was 13 laps behind winner Ward Burton.

And Ms. Patrick drove in the 500 last year, garnering far more media attention than Ms. Guthrie and Ms. Robinson combined. In a Chevrolet for Tommy Baldwin Racing—through a relationship with Stewart-Haas Racing—she started 29th and finished 38th. She was involved in a second-lap accident that left her 74 laps behind winner Matt Kenseth.

This report appeared in Autoweek magazine, a Detroit-based sister publication of Tire Business.