Danica Patrick has been blazing a path for women in racing for years and after her historic pole win at the Daytona 500 on Thursday she has done it again. Her efforts will be felt all weekend at Daytona and they will also be felt on Saturday when she drives in the Nationwide Series opener with a fellow female racer.
Driver Johanna Long is following in the footsteps of Patrick and she will be the one joining her at Daytona in her second season on the Nationwide circuit.
Long made some history herself as a rookie in 2012 when she drover the No. 70 car, as she became the youngest female driver in series history when she hit the track at Daytona.
"Last year, it was all surreal to me," said Long, 20, to PNJ.com. "I learned a lot, gained a lot of experience. I am a lot more confident in these cars now and 100 percent more confident in myself."
Long is driving for the ML Motorsports team and is currently planning to race in 21 of the 33 races in the Nationwide series. Last season she finished 20th in the standings, not far behind Patrick, who came in 10th after starting all 33 races. Patrick also ran in 10 Sprint Cup races and was voted the most popular driver on the circuit. It's hard for some not to compare the two.
"A lot of people don't compare me as much as they did last year, because they know I am a different person and I do my own thing," said Long. "I know I have my own following."
Long has continued to improve throughout her short career and finished in the top 20 eight times last season, including 12th in the second Nationwide race at Daytona.
"Last year, I had never raced a Nationwide car before," said Long, who competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2010 and 2011. "This year, I have been in the series. I know the people, so it's going to go real smooth."
The 300-mile race will offer a challenge for Long, but it's nothing she hasn't dealt with before. This year all the attention has been on Patrick after her Daytona win and Long has been able to concentrate on racing all week.
Long has been writing and chronicling her time at Daytona on espnW.com and described her expectations for the upcoming season.
"My goal is to race competitively in the top-10 and top-15 regularly. My team has been working extremely hard in the shop over the offseason to prepare fast cars, so there's no doubt in my mind that once I hit the track at Daytona, we're going to have a strong No. 70 Chevrolet," she wrote on the blog.
Long hit a top speed of 175.223 mph in qualifying and she will be in the 25th position behind Scott Lagasse Jr. and in front of Mike Bliss and Mike Harmon.