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Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, gets out of her car after qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 17 in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Patrick went out eighth in the qualifying session Sunday and covered the 2 1/2-mile superspeedway in 45.817 seconds, averaging 196.434 mph.
 

She waited about two hours as 37 fellow drivers tried to take her spot. Only four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon even came close to knocking her off.

-- By Mark Long, Associated Press

Read the full story.

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Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 16.

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Jimmie Johnson. driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, performs a burnout during the NASCAR Victory Lap on the Las Vegas Strip on November 29, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Dodge, and Clint Bowyer, driver of the #15 5-hour Energy Toyota, drive during the NASCAR Victory Lap on the Las Vegas Strip on Thursday.

Julie Jacobson / AP

Jeff Gordon stops for a tire change while driving down the Las Vegas Strip for the Nascar Awards Week victory lap, Thursday.

Nigel Kinrade / AP

Austin Dillon celebrates his win with a burnout after the NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race at Kentucky Speedway, Friday, June 29, 2012, in Sparta, Ky.

Michael L. Levitt / AP

Austin Dillon performs slides in the grass after winning the race.

AP reports: Pole-sitter Austin Dillon, driving the legendary No. 3 car, led most of the final 113 laps to win the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Kentucky Speedway on Friday night. The No. 3, of course, was driven to fame by Dale Earnhardt before his death on the track at the 2001 Daytona 500. Richard Childress was the team owner for Earnhardt, and is also the grandfather and team owner for Dillon.

As Dillon was clinching the win, his grandfather said over the radio, "Dale would have been proud of that." It was the first Nationwide victory for Dillon, a rookie who captured the Truck Series title a year ago.

Phelan M. Ebenhack / AP

Danica Patrick (10), Kurt Busch (51), David Ragan (34) and Jimmie Johnson (48) crash during the NASCAR Daytona 500 on Monday night.

Terry Renna / AP

Crew members repair Danica Patrick's car on Monday night.

AP reports: Danica Patrick is back on the track after being involved in an accident just two laps into her Daytona 500 debut.

 After her crew made extensive repairs to her battered race car, Patrick finally returned to the race down 62 laps to the leaders — earning cheers from the grandstands as she pulled out of the garage area.

 The accident just minutes after the green flag dropped Monday night began when Elliott Sadler turned five-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson. He shot into the wall, then rolled back down the track. Patrick was coming along behind the accident and was caught in the chaos.

See NBCSports.com coverage of the race.

·        Follow along as driver compete in the season-opening Daytona 500

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·        Romney takes campaign detour to Daytona

·        Patrick steamed after second crash in three days

·        Buescher dodges wreck to win Nationwide race

·        Why Danica doesn't drive her Lamborghini anymore

·        Slideshow: Top images of Danica's life, career

·        Castrodale: Danica can't be just image anymore

·        NASCAR spotlight shines bright on Danica Patrick

·        Economy brighter in NASCAR, teams searching

·        Junior's confidence on the rise at Daytona

Phelan M. Ebenhack / AP

Miguel Paludo of Brazil, hits the inside wall during the NASCAR Camping World Truck series 250 auto race in Daytona Beach, Fla., Friday, Feb. 24, 2012. Paludo walked away unhurt.

Phelan M. Ebenhack / AP

Miguel Paludo of Brazil, goes airborne after a crash during the NASCAR Camping World Truck series 250 auto race on Friday night.

AP reports: Paludo was running third when he just lost control of his truck. He turned left and slammed into the inside retaining wall head on — a violent crash that caused his truck to spin like an out-of-control helicopter. All four tires left the ground and the engine caught fire before Paludo eventually came to a stop.

He climbed out a few seconds later and was unharmed.

"It was a hard hit for sure," Paludo said. "I lost my breath."

SB Nation reports:

NASCAR drivers have now gone headfirst into the inside retaining wall at Daytona International Speedway on consecutive days.

Fortunately, thanks entirely to the innovative SAFER barrier, both Danica Patrick on Thursday and Miguel Paludo in tonight's Camping World Truck Series race walked away unhurt.

Brian Blanco / Reuters

NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Danica Patrick speaks to the media after winning the pole for the Nationwide DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, Feb. 24, 2012.

Rainier Ehrhardt / AP

Danica Patrick drives her car during qualifying for Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide Drive4COPD 300 Friday.

Chuck Mcquinn / AP

Danica Patrick's car slides down the track after a crash during the first of two NASCAR Daytona Duel 150 qualifying auto races in Daytona Beach, Fla., Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012.

From the full story by NBC Sports: Patrick became the first woman to secure the top qualifying spot in NASCAR's second-tier series since Shawna Robinson at Atlanta on March 12, 1994.

Slideshow: Danica Daze - Images of Danica Patrick from her years with IRL, IndyCar and now NASCAR.

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Kyle Busch drives the #18 M&M's Brown Toyota during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 22, 2012 in Daytona Beach, Florida.

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