Three Time Zones

Since leaving Texas Motor Speedway after Saturday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the 1.5-mile oval, Danica Patrick has been a bit of a jet-setter.

Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing, spent Monday of this week in Los Angeles shooting a Go Daddy commercial with IZOD IndyCar Series driver James Hinchcliffe.

After the shoot with Hinchcliffe, who is also sponsored by Go Daddy, Patrick boarded a plane and headed to Daytona Beach, Fla., to participate in a two-day Goodyear tire test at Daytona International Speedway. The test was conducted Tuesday afternoon and evening, as well as all day Wednesday, in preparation for the July 6 Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola Sprint Cup race at the 2.5-mile oval.

From Daytona, Patrick will fly back westward to Kansas City, Kan., for Sunday’s STP 400 Sprint Cup race at Kansas Speedway.

While Patrick hit three times zones in four days, each stop on her tour of the United States brought her to a special spot in her racing career.

The Los Angeles area is home to the Long Beach Grand Prix, where 11 years ago Patrick started on the pole and won the professional portion of the Toyota Pro-Celebrity race.

Patrick’s trek to Daytona was her first since her historic Speedweeks in February when she started on the pole and finished eighth in the 55th Daytona 500. She set numerous records, including the distinction of becoming the first woman to win a Sprint Cup pole, and her eighth-place result was the highest finishing position ever for a woman in the “Great American Race.”

She led laps 90 to 91 under caution to become the first female to lead NASCAR’s most prestigious race. She also led laps 127 to 129 under green to become the first woman to lead a NASCAR race under green. Janet Guthrie led five laps under yellow in 1977 at Ontario (Calif.) Motor Speedway.

As for Kansas, Patrick scored her first career IndyCar Series pole at the 1.5-mile oval in July 2005. She has three top-10 results in IndyCar Series competition at Kansas and finished in the top-15 in each of her two Nationwide Series starts at the track in 2011 and 2012.

It’s been a busy week for Patrick, but also a trip that’s taken her a bit down memory lane. And she’s hoping to create even more memories and history Sunday.

TSC PR