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DANICA PATRICK – 2017 Talladega II Race Report

Event:               Alabama 500 (Round 31 of 36)
Series:               Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location:          Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway (2.66-mile oval)
Format:             188 laps, broken into three segments (55 laps/55 laps/78 laps)
Start/Finish:      13th/21st (Accident, completed 175 of 188 laps)
Point Standings: 28th (457 points)

Race Winner:    Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner:   Ryan Blaney of Wood Brothers Racing (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-55):

  • Danica Patrick started 13th and finished 19th.
  • The No. 10 Aspen Dental Ford Fusion team pitted for a fuel-only stop at lap 14 with all of the other Ford teams. Patrick was scored in the 37th position when the caution flag waved at lap 26 for a multicar incident. As the field cycled through pit stops, Patrick restarted in eighth at lap 36.
  • Running the top line was not beneficial for Patrick, as she dropped as low as 29th on the subsequent run. When she dropped to the bottom, she was able to draft her way back inside the top-20 before the caution flag waved at lap 51.
  • The team made its final stop of the stage at lap 52 for tires and fuel. 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 56-110):

  • Started sixth and finished 11th.
  • Patrick got shuffled back to the 17th spot in the high line at the start but was able to draft her way back up to sixth before pitting for fuel at lap 67. As Patrick got down to enter pit road, the No. 10 Aspen Dental Ford sustained right-side damage from the No. 48 car. Despite the contact, Patrick made it to her pit without any issue, and the team was able to complete the stop.
  • Patrick drafted her way from 18th to 11th in the final 10 laps of the stage.
  • The team pitted at laps 83 and 112 for four tires and fuel. 

Final Stage Recap (Laps 110-188):

  • Started 15th and finished 21st.
  • Patrick was running in 22nd position when the No. 10 Aspen Dental Ford was collected in a multicar accident at lap 172. The team attempted to make repairs on pit road but was unable to do so in the time allotted, thus ending Patrick’s day at Talladega.
  • Patrick was evaluated and released from the care center. 

Notes:

  • This was Patrick’s 10th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway and her 185th career NASCAR Cup Series start.
  • Patrick earned 16 points in Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway, which puts her at 457 total points for the season thus far. She is ranked 28th in the driver point standings.
  • There were 11 caution periods for a total of 47 laps.
  • Thirteen of the 40 drivers in the Alabama 500 finished on the lead lap.
  • Brad Keselowski won the Alabama 500 to score his 24th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his fifth at Talladega Superspeedway. His margin of victory over second-place Ryan Newman was .210 of a second.
  • Martin Truex Jr. leads the championship standings with 3,120 points and holds a 19-point margin over his nearest pursuer, Keselowski. 

Next Up:                                                                       

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Oct. 22 Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. The event starts at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN.