Danica Patrick: Latest News and Predictions Ahead of 2015 Daytona 500

Heading into her third full-time season at the Sprint Cup level, Danica Patrick has heightened expectations yet again. This is nothing new for the Stewart-Haas Racing driver, but the first race also needs to be a statement one.

Daytona has by far been one of her best tracks during her short career. Patrick has two top fives in four starts as a full-time driver. Having a great result again this year would certainly help silence some of her critics.

She won the pole for the Daytona 500 as a rookie in 2013 and finished eighth. An accident derailed her chances last year, as she finished 40th before recovering with another top 10 in July.

In anticipation of the biggest race of the year, here's a look at the latest news and predictions for Patrick at Daytona.

Latest News

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Prior to the season even starting, Patrick is already at the center of controversy. The SHR driver predicted things wouldn't go well during the group qualifying session at Daytona, claiming she was "worried about qualifying" and things wouldn't be any different from Talladega.

Well, let's just say she was completely accurate.

Myriad drivers expressed their outrage over the group format following Sunday, including notable names like Tony Stewart and Clint Bowyer. SHR was likely the most impacted as a whole, with all four drivers finishing 29th through 32nd in the first group when Bowyer and Reed Sorenson wrecked.

Daniel Knost, Patrick's new crew chief, was none too happy with the new format, via Brant James of USA Today.

"

I don't like it at all. The whole game is to be last. Any time the whole game is to be last, people are going to [be] jockeying around, playing games. So then you get a wreck at a place where you just can't get up to speed fast enough and you're pretty much done.

We'll go out and make sure how we need to finish in the Duels and we'll do everything we can to finish better.

"

The weekend was also filled with more anger than just Knost's reaction to the qualifying. During the Sprint Unlimited race, Patrick was upset with the Team Penske teammates, more so with Joey Logano. Patrick avoided three wrecks, one that was started when Logano forced Kevin Harvick into the wall.

She voiced her opinion about the Penske drivers on the radio, via Jeff Gluck of USA Today:

Regardless of how she performed during the Sprint Unlimited, it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. What does matter for Patrick this season is results during the regular season.

Patrick, who is entering a contract year, needs to find consistency near the top of the leaderboard. Larry McReynolds of Fox Sports offered his take on the situation for Patrick, per Tony Fabrizio of espnW.com:

"

I do think this is a very pivotal year. And I'm not even saying she has to win a race. But let's face it: She drives for Stewart-Haas Racing, which has won two of the last four championships. They won six races collectively last year. I think it is time that she needs to become, at least -- and I'm going to be conservative -- a top-15 driver, week in and out.

"

As McReynolds points out, Patrick is on a loaded team with Harvick, Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch. All three have won championships, giving Patrick a wealth of experience around her. In order to make the next step, she'll need to learn from all three to grow.

That all starts with Daytona.

In order for her to have a solid starting position, she'll need things to go well on Thursday night. Reaching the top 10 in her Duel will likely put her in the top half of the field for the 500. If she can survive the "Big One" on Sunday, Patrick will have a shot at another excellent finish. 

Prediction: Patrick finishes top 10 during Budweiser Duel, 13th in Daytona 500.

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