DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — IndyCar star Danica Patrick has turned her first laps in a stock car at Daytona International Speedway.
Dozens of photographers and reporters followed Patrick's every move Friday as she completed five laps before rain washed out an ARCA test.
Patrick says she is "learning a lot and I think it's going to pay off." She is scheduled to make her stock car debut in an ARCA race at Daytona in February.
She said that her laps around the 2½-mile superspeedway felt "a little slow." Her top speed was 176.142 mph, which is about 50 mph off the IndyCar pace at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. She was 12th out of 24 drivers on the Daytona speed chart.
Her biggest problem Friday? She struggled getting in and out of the car with her helmet on.
