Home » Admin » Wave Weekly » Media seek out JU grad and former NASCAR driver Patty Moise after Danica Patrick’s pole position

Media seek out JU grad and former NASCAR driver Patty Moise after Danica Patrick’s pole position

Jacksonville University alum Patty Moise, who went on to a career as a NASCAR driver, is getting some attention again now that Danica Patrick will start this Sunday’s Daytona 500 in the pole position — the first woman to do so in a Sprint Cup race.

Moise, 52, who graduated from JU with a bachelor’s degree in marketing in 1980, was interviewed by Florida Times-Union sports columnist Gene Frenette for a piece that ran in the newspaper Tuesday, Feb. 19.

In it, she discussed the challenges she faced on the circuit, and finding true love with fellow driver Elton Sawyer, who she married 22 years ago.

“Things change, things progress,” Moise told Frenette. “It was probably harder for [NASCAR driver] Janet Guthrie in the 1970s than for me, and harder for me than Danica. You’re just glad to see change. The timing is right for [Patrick].”

Moise said in the column that she had a tough time finding sponsors and good equipment during her career, which included races at Daytona in the Firecracker 400. She drove in five Winston Cup races from 1987 to 1989, and 133 Busch Series races from 1986 to 1998. She was also the first female to lead a Busch event and the first to win a qualifying race (1988 at Talladega).

She said she’ll be pulling for Patrick on Sunday.

“It’s great for NASCAR, a very positive thing,” Moise told Frenette from her home outside Winston-Salem, N.C. “I’ve never met Danica, but I like her interviews. It seems her head is in the right place. It’s all good.”

While she struggled on the track after hitting the big-time, she’s happy she met Sawyer.

“I didn’t reach my goals as a driver,” Moise was quoted as saying. “But with [marrying] my husband, I feel I won the Cup championship.”

To see the entire column, click here.