Daytona 500 Preview: Will Danica Make History Again?

     Okay, so I'm not really familiar with the sport of NASCAR since I'm not deeply invested in the sport (That is, if it is a sport. That's up for debate). However, the Daytona 500 is this Sunday and people are already talking about it. Danica Patrick made history yesterday when she became the first woman to ever win a qualifying pole and secure the top spot for any race in NASCAR. Her No. 10 car ran a 196.434 lap in the qualifying session, edging out Jeff Gordon by .142 MPH.
     But will Danica be able to duplicate the success that she had in the qualifying sessions and make even more history? Now the rest of the field has yet to be determined with the Gatorade Duels still to come on Thursday afternoon. But it's safe to say that Patrick will have a challenge ahead of her. Aside from the legendary Jeff Gordon, you have five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson. You also have the defending Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski along with Joey Logano, 2011 Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne, defending Daytona 500 champion Matt Kenseth, and experienced veterans like Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch. I'm not too good with NASCAR terminology and the mechanics of the sport, but I can tell you that one thing's for certain: Dale Earnhardt Jr. is overrated. All of the drivers that I've mentioned before Junior are my personal "wise picks" to win Daytona. As for my own pick to win it all, I personally think that it's Brad Keselowski's time to win Daytona. Sure his past results at Daytona Beach were less than stellar (He even finished with a DNQ, which means that he didn't qualify). But he's a hot commodity right now and I feel that Jimmie Johnson might have a hard time in this year's race. However, Johnson, Danica, Kenseth, and Logano will round out the Top 5.