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Heavy Hit Hurts Danica Patrick in the Points Standings
By Brad Gerhart
A ground breaking, make that record breaking day at Daytona came to a sudden halt in Phoenix.
Danica Patrick got a dose of "rookie reality" throughout the NASCAR Sprint Cup weekend in Phoenix. She struggled during the practice sessions, qualified 40th out of the 43 car field and the Subway Fresh 500 did not treat her kindly either.
Patrick stated her Stewart/Haas Racing team "lost our way a little bit," a few moments prior to the race and the one mile track in the desert is "completely different (than that of Daytona). And yes, it sure was a completely different result for the 30 year old Illinois resident. She made her way up to a race high 21st, but on lap 185 Patrick blew a tire on her No.10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet and went straight into the outside wall as she came out of turn four, she ran 26th at the time.
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 | The heavy contact with the wall ricocheted her across the track and collected David Ragan's Front Row Motorsports No. 34. which nearly flew directly over the front hood of Patrick's car. Pieces of each car scattered throughout the front straightaway which led to a fairly lengthy clean up under caution. Ragan’s crew attempted a quick repair on their battered car, but brought his Ford to the garage for good a few laps later (finished 39th). After being released from NASCAR's medical center, Patrick stated that the Phoenix accident was not the hardest she's experienced in a stock car. "Daytona last year was bigger," Patrick said.
Usually before a tire, or wheel barring goes, the driver experiences a tell, but in the case of Patrick she stated that it simply just went. "No real good warning, car was not all that tight, no vibration," she said.
A week ago Patrick finished in the top-10 (eighth) at NASCAR's most prestigious event. This weekend, she ran at the back, out of contention and could not collect any positive points in the standings. With her 39th place finish, she left Phoenix with next to no points (five in Phoenix) and fell from seventh in the points, all the way down to 22nd. "It just really sucks to lose points," Patrick said.
Perhaps her luck will change in a weeks time at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a track where she finished fourth and 12th in her last two NASCAR Nationwide Series races at the 1.5 mile oval.
This will be her initial Vegas Cup race and "it should suit me well," Patrick said, she also raced in Vegas during her time with the IZOD IndyCar Series.
With the championship points system (top-35) coming into effect in less than a months time, Patrick can ill afford any issues within the next few races.
PaddockTalk Perspective
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