After back-to-back solid runs at Dover (Del.) International Speedway and Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, Danica Patrick and the No. 10 TaxAct Ford Fusion team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) travel to Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn for Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race.
Two weeks ago, Patrick finished 10th at Dover and, last weekend, the No. 10 team took home a 16th-place effort at Pocono. Now, the series ventures to one of Patrick’s top tracks on the circuit. She finished 13th in the June 2013 event and has a total of four top-20 finishes in eight NASCAR Cup Series starts at the 2-mile oval.
Her 13th-place run was the third top-15 finish in her career and came when her team elected to take only right-side tires on the final pit stop. She drove hard for the final stint and wound up with the solid finish.
In June 2014, she went down a lap early in the race but got it back on lap 147 and drove to a solid top-20 finish. The following August, she once again earned a top-20 result at Michigan.
The next year, Patrick started the Michigan 400 in June from the 19th position, led two laps and scored a 16th-place finish in the rain-shortened event.
In addition to scoring solid runs at Michigan in the NASCAR Cup Series, Patrick had done a good job in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and IndyCar Series prior to that.
In August 2012, she started an impressive fifth and led one lap en route to an 18th-place Xfinity Series finish. And, in August 2007, she started ninth, led five laps and finished seventh in the IndyCar Series.
In July 2006, Patrick was running eighth when she ran out of fuel just three laps from the end of what would have been a top-10 IndyCar finish. She ended up 17th.
As NASCAR Cup Series teams head to Michigan, TaxAct, a leading provider of affordable digital and downloadable tax software for individuals, business owners and tax professionals, will serve as primary sponsor of Patrick’s No. 10 Ford on Sunday. The race marks the fifth event this year in which TaxAct, the official DIY tax prep partner of SHR and Patrick, has served as the primary sponsor of the No. 10 Ford. The company’s mission is to empower people to navigate the complexities of tax and finance with ease and accuracy – at a clear, transparent and fair price.
TaxAct is back on Patrick’s No. 10 Ford this weekend to help remind taxpayers who filed an extension on their 2016 tax return that all returns must be submitted to the IRS by October 16. To help filers beat the extension deadline, TaxAct is offering a 20 percent discount on all TaxAct Online 2016 editions. Filers can choose the product that best fits their tax situation and file their federal and state returns with ease. Tax filers can take advantage of the discount by visiting http://www.taxact.com/michigan. The offer is available through July 31.
After earning solid results the past two weeks, Patrick and the No. 10 TaxAct Ford team will be looking to bring home another good run this weekend at Michigan.
DANICA PATRICK, Driver of the No. 10 TaxAct Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:
What are your thoughts on racing at Michigan?
“Michigan is a wide, fast track. There’s lots of room to move around and try different lines. I think it’s a momentum track and you have to focus on being smooth. At the end of the day, the car has to handle well. It has to feel good. It has to be a fast car. I think those are the challenges – getting your car to handle well and being smooth and consistent, lap after lap, at such a fast track.”
What kind of challenges does Michigan present?
“It’s really easy to have an imbalance at Michigan, whether it be getting the power down on exit or most of the time being tight. I feel like it produces some great racing and there’s a lot of drafting, so you can use that to help pass cars.”
