Sprint Fan Vote 2015: Danica Patrick Voted into NASCAR All-Star Race

Danica Patrick finished in ninth place in Friday's Sprint Showdown at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but her fans had her back.

Patrick was named the Sprint Fan Vote winner in the aftermath of the Showdown, which means she is part of the 20-driver field in Saturday night's NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. Greg Biffle and Clint Bowyer won the two respective segments of the Showdown and will join Patrick and the 17 other drivers in the All-Star field.

NASCAR shared a picture of the three Friday winners:

Patrick, who won the same designation in 2013, became the first driver to ever win the Sprint Fan Vote two times in a career. It is a testament to her fans, and Stewart-Haas Racing shared the subsequent thanks:

Patrick beat out Bowyer, Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr. and Josh Wise as the other top-five vote getters. She certainly needed every one of those votes, as Jay W. Pennell of Fox Sports shared:

Jeff Gluck of USA Today noted that the second-place finisher was not announced:

Slimmest vote in history or not, Patrick was the winner and now gets the opportunity to race in Saturday's All-Star competition. She shared her excitement for what lies ahead and gave her fans something to look forward to in the coming races, per Jay Pennell of Fox Sports:

"

What I am is super lucky and fortunate that I have such great fans that are going to give me a chance to make the car better. The way I want to pay them back is to have a great race and move up through the segments, and ultimately make it better for the Coke 600 -- the big, big one. There is a million dollars on the line, so that's pretty good too.

I'm just very fortunate I have such great fans. I wanted to race better tonight, for sure, but I know there's some things we can do to make the car better. Let's hope they work.

"

While Patrick is clearly one of the most popular drivers in the sport (hence the two-time designation as the Sprint Fan Vote winner), her spot means Truex Jr. is on the outside looking in at the All-Star field. From a performance-based criteria, that isn't exactly fair, as Gluck and Nate Ryan of NBC Sports pointed out:

Ultimately, Truex Jr.'s performances in the upcoming races after the All-Star festivities will be far more important than his All-Star snub. He has a chance to make a move in the points standings and could even use this as motivation moving forward.

As for Patrick, she certainly doesn't have the momentum heading into the All-Star Race that Biffle and Bowyer do after Friday's performances.

She finished in ninth place, while Bowyer and Biffle proved to themselves and their fans that they can maneuver traffic at Charlotte Motor Speedway and come through in the clutch. Patrick is also fighting against recent history, considering only Kasey Kahne (in 2008) won the All-Star Race after winning the Sprint Fan Vote since voting was instituted in 2004.

Still, anything can happen in a small field of 20 drivers. One wreck from the middle of the pack or one impressive maneuver to the front could set up Patrick for a dramatic victory.

That would certainly be an excellent way to reward her fans for the votes.