Danica Patrick: Power Ranking the 20 NASCAR Tracks She's Most Likely to Win at

As NASCAR rumors continue to swirl around Danica Patrick, one question remains; what track will give the most popular female driver in NASCAR her first win?

Will it be a big drafting track or a road course? Or will she earn her first win at an intermediate track?

Follow me as I look at the top 20 tracks in which she may get her first win.

No. 20: Bristol

Bristol is a hard bumping track that you have to be confident to race on and aggressive to win at.

While it doesn't have a lot of speed, the track is a hard one to drive and may still haunt Danica Patrick after her accident and 33rd-place finish there this year.

It's easier to race on than some other tracks on the NASCAR schedules but it will take a lot of getting used to driving a stock car for Danica to be successful at this challenging track.

No. 19: Talladega

While Talladega is a track that depends mostly on drafting, it also depends on staying out of trouble.

Danica Patrick has been learning how to draft and is doing an okay job at it but her lack of drafting skills and not really figuring out stock car racing yet makes it a long shot that she'll pick up a trophy at Talladega for her first NASCAR win.

In addition, Patrick has never raced at the track and while it is similar to Daytona (and gives us random winners at times), it is a little hard to learn.

No. 18: Dover

Dover is another hard track that seems to have weird, unexpected things happen. Danica Patrick has proven she can drive well around an oval when things go right, but the Monster Mile is not one of those tracks that things usually go smoothly on.

Patrick also has no NASCAR experience on the track, making it hard for her to get a go at the checkered flag there for a few years.

In addition, it is a challenging track where even the best drivers have problems, so while Danica may take home the monster trophy, it's lower on the list of places she'll earn her first win at.

No. 17: Fontana

Danica Patrick hasn't had a good showing at this track with a 31st in 2010 after an accident.

She didn't race at the track this year due to the change in the schedule but this is one of those races where she also has to compete with multiple double entry cup guys as well which adds even more of a challenge to the track.

No. 16: Kansas

While Kansas looks simple, it is anything but. The track is sensitive to adjustments and will screw with a car if a wrong adjustment is made.

While it is a good learning track for Danica Patrick to hone her car reading skills, it is also a track that she'll probably fight with for a bit before she figures it out, which is not conductive to her winning a race there.

This is also another track she hasn't raced at yet, which makes it even tougher to get her first win.

No. 15: Phoenix

While Danica's record at Phoenix isn't great (32nd in 2010), the new pave job plus her extra experience in the car may show a big improvement in her driving.

The track should have more grip and this seems to be something that helps Danica a little more than anything else and could even help her find her way to Victory Lane.

No. 14: Richmond

While Danica Patrick's experience at short track racing in a stock car didn't leave the best impression for her, she should like Richmond a whole lot better than Bristol.

Bristol drives exactly like a short track should, there is no missing that you are on a half mile track but Richmond is a small track that drives like an intermediate track.

The only issue Danica may have here is that since Richmond feels so much like an intermediate, rookies tend to forget it isn't. She doesn't have any first hand competition experience here so that will be a downfall but it shouldn't hurt her too much if she can get track time on a similar set up somehow.

No. 13: Road America

Road America is, obviously, a road course.

This gives Danica an advantage that she wouldn't have on ovals since most of the NASCAR guys really don't transition well over to road courses and she has a decent record in IRL on them with a recent seventh-place finish.

However, Road America is more oval like than the other road courses with two long straighter stretches, which may play more into the hands of the stock car guys. Danica has never raced at the track in NASCAR and this may prove to be her weakest road course.

No. 12: Loudon

Loudon is more of a square oval which proved to be a downfall for Danica Patrick last year when she finished 30th.

However, it was a better finish than those ranked below the track and it seemed like it may have clicked a little bit to her at some points. Patrick will be coming into Loudon with more experience in the seat which should help her a lot.

However, the unusual configuration of this track may confuse what she's learned about driving stock cars thus far, which could be a downfall if she doesn't take the knowledge she's learned and tweak it a bit for this track.

No. 11: Michigan

Danica got a top 30 (27th) from this track last year but didn't make an appearance here in 2011.

The track is fairly easy and should put her stock car knowledge to the test in a less stressful environment than other tracks.

If she can keep herself clean and keep working her way to the front during the race, she could launch a sneak attack at the checkered flag to drive fans and the media nuts.

No. 10: Atlanta

Another fairly easy track to navigate, Atlanta won't be super hard for Danica Patrick to figure out. It is also like Chicago, where Patrick pulled off a top 10 in early June of this year, which gives her even more of an advantage.

The disadvantage is that she hasn't raced here before but if she can get around it like she got around Chicago, that shouldn't hurt too much.

No. 9: Kentucky

While Danica Patrick will have to fight Joey Logano for a win at Kentucky, it is another straight forward type of track and is nearly identical to Chicago and even Las Vegas where she pulled off a fourth place finish this year.

While the track won't run identical to the two mentioned above, it should help her feel more comfortable than other tracks. Plus, Patrick has experience here in the Indy car as well so she should be good.

No. 8: Montreal

Another road course, another slight advantage. Although Montreal is more of a real road course than Road America, it also attracts Canadian road course ringers in addition to the normal road course ringers.

This year, Danica will be making her first stock car run in a road course at this track, so that will give her an advantage here for future runs at a win but the ringers here are a worry until she gets really solid here.

No. 7: Texas

Danica Patrick has Texas Motor Speedway experience in the Indy car and will be stepping into the stock car later this year.

While Indy isn't like a stock car, the experience just driving around the track should help her.

The track also is a little like Vegas which should be another advantage. There really isn't any con for this track other than her not having stock car experience here.

No. 6: Homestead-Miami Speedway

Homestead was a good end to last year for Danica Patrick when she finished 19th, her only top 20 finish of the year.

Homestead has been the season finale for quite a few years now and it would be a good ending to her year to pull off a win. It would also keep her in the limelight for the off season which may boost the following season as well.

Overall, she's shown talent here and it wouldn't be too surprising if she got her first win where she got her best finish of her first season.

No. 5: Daytona

Daytona has a way of throwing surprise winners out and Danica could be one of them. While she got caught up in a wreck in her Daytona debut, she did finish 14th in this year's race.

The draft is still a little problem for her but she improves every time she does it. If she can hook up with the right partner, she could pull off an epic first win that no one would forget.

No. 4: The Brickyard

There's no doubt Danica has had success at Indianapolis in the Indy Car series, leading laps in the Indy 500 and even placing in the top 10 multiple times.

Her weakness here is that she does only have that Indy Car experience, with no stock car competition runs. But her success in the Indy series at the track may make it easier for her to transfer over than any other track. It will be a race to watch when she finally gets to run here.

No. 3: Watkins Glen

Watkins Glen is probably the best road course chance Danica has. While it still has the ringers, it doesn't have the extra Canadian road course experts as well.

The Nationwide Series does hit more road courses than the Sprint Cup but Danica Patrick seems more confident on them than most drivers on the NASCAR circuit.

This may be a long shot since she hasn't even set wheel on this track in a stock car, but this is a good road course for her and gives her a bit more advantage than the ovals where everyone has a lot of experience.

No. 2: Las Vegas

Las Vegas is Danica's highest placed track so far in her NASCAR career with a fourth place finish. She did have issues in 2010 with a 37th finish after an accident.

Many people discredit her fourth place finish as being a pit strategy race but she did work on the track to get to the front as well. Danica also has Indy experience here so Vegas is a good place for her.

The question is if she can repeat her performance from this year down the road but there really is no reason why she can't improve even more here with more experience in the car.

No. 1: Chicago

Danica seems to like Chicago with a 24th-place finish last year and a 10th-place finish this year in two limited seasons of running.

If she can keep up her success at the track in coming years, it shouldn't be a surprise if she takes the checkered flag one day soon.