Month: July 2017

KEVIN HARVICK – 2017 Kentucky Race Advance

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Busch Light Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), collected his first win of the NASCAR Cup Series season two weeks ago at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway to virtually clinch his spot in the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Now, he would like to check another item off of his to-do list Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta.

Harvick has scored Cup Series wins at 20 of 23 racetracks on the current Cup Series schedule. He lacks only Kentucky, Pocono (Pa.) Raceway and Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth – all tracks with a race remaining on the 2017 schedule.

The only driver to win at more tracks than Harvick is 2015 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, who has won races at 21 of 23 venues the series visits and needs wins at only Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway and Pocono.

For Harvick, Kentucky also happens to be the only track on the current schedule where he’s yet to score a top-five finish.

The 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion had a strong effort at the newly repaved Kentucky Speedway in his most recent visit there in 2016. He started from the pole position after inclement weather cancelled Cup Series qualifying and the starting lineup was set according to the NASCAR Rule Book. He went on to lead a race-high 128 of 267 laps around the 1.5-mile oval, but fuel strategy caused him to make a late-race pit stop that foiled his strong run and ended in a ninth-place finish.

The Bakersfield, California native has scored four straight top-10 finishes at Kentucky dating back to 2013 with a best finish of seventh coming in 2014.

Since Harvick scored his first Cup Series win of the 2017 campaign at Sonoma, he now looks to build on his playoff points heading into the championship run. His eight playoff points are currently tied for sixth in the Cup Series, 13 behind leader Martin Truex Jr.’s 21 playoff points.

The best way to score the maximum amount of playoff points in a race is to win races. Harvick and the No. 4 team can accomplish both goals with a win this weekend at Kentucky – crossing another track off his list and scoring the most playoff points possible.

The No. 4 Busch Light team will give it everything it has to earn the win and the points Saturday night at Kentucky.

KEVIN HARVICK, Driver of the No. 4 Busch Light Ford Fusion:

Kentucky was always known for being one of the roughest tracks on the circuit. How much different is it without all those bumps since the repave?

“It feels great, to tell you the truth. My neck doesn’t hurt and it doesn’t pound your heels and your neck to the point where you can’t hardly walk for two days. I think everybody loves the character in the racetrack but, when you see them dry this particular racetrack now, the drainage is fixed, as well as the other things that were actually wrong. I don’t think anybody minds bumps and character in a racetrack. It’s just when we sat here for hours a couple of years ago with water running out of the racetrack, that was just, I think, the final straw that broke the camel’s back, that you had to go out and fix it and make it right. I like the thought process.”

How common is that experience that you had here with your neck and feet?

“This one was probably by far the worst. You have different problems at different tracks, but these were jarring (bumps) because of the fact they were down the straightaway and the car would actually almost come off the ground in certain spots and bounce around. It was just jarring-type hits that were almost jumps.”

DANICA PATRICK – 2017 Kentucky Race Advance

As Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams travel to Kentucky Speedway in Sparta for Saturday night’s Kentucky 400, Danica Patrick and the No. 10 Nature’s Bakery/Feeding Americaâ Ford Fusion team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) will be looking to get just a little bit more during this visit to the 1.5-mile track.

Last year, teams were faced with quite a challenge when they showed up to the newly repaved and reconfigured track. Between July 2015 and July 2016, the track was repaved and underwent changes in turns one and two, where the banking was increased from 14 to 17 degrees. In addition, the width of the pit road exit lane was increased and, as a result, the racing surface in those turns is now nearly 20 feet narrower.

Heading into the race weekend last year, teams were forced to start over with their notebooks for Kentucky. Patrick and the No. 10 team proved to be up for the challenge and scored a 17th-place finish. The effort marked Patrick’s career-best NASCAR Cup Series finish at the 1.5-mile track.

In addition to Patrick’s Cup Series experience at the track, she’s also competed there in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the IndyCar Series. Her best Xfinity Series result at Kentucky was a 12th-place finish she earned in June 2012. In seven IndyCar races at Kentucky, she led a total of three laps and earned four top-10 finishes, and qualified on the pole in 2005.

When Patrick and the No. 10 team visit Kentucky this year, her Ford Fusion will carry the light blue of Nature’s Bakery, as well as the orange hue of Feeding America. Nature’s Bakery, a snacks and food brand that supports health-conscious living and active lifestyles, recently announced a partnership with Feeding America that will see the company donate funds to provide 1.65 million meals* for families struggling with hunger. In addition, Nature’s Bakery will supplement the donation to Feeding America with an additional 135,000 pounds of Nature’s Bakery food products donated to select foods banks in the Feeding America nationwide network. As part of the company’s commitment to help end hunger faced by 42 million Americans, Nature’s Bakery is leveraging its sponsorship of SHR to help create national awareness for the cause by featuring Feeding America logos on the No. 10 Ford Fusion this weekend at Kentucky.

After scoring her career-best finish at the track in 2016, Patrick and the No. 10 team will be looking for just a bit more as they plan to improve upon last year’s results during their return to Kentucky for Saturday night’s race.

*$1 helps provide 11 meals secured by Feeding Americaâ on behalf of local member foods banks. Nature’s Bakery guarantees a minimum of 1,650,000 meals to Feeding Americaâ and member foods banks from June 1, 2017 to June 1, 2018.

 

DANICA PATRICK, Driver of the No. 10 Nature’s Bakery/Feeding America Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

 

What are your overall thoughts on Kentucky?

“It’s one of those tracks where I have experience but, obviously, not a lot of it in a stock car. I’ve been there a lot, but I’ve only run a handful of stock-car races there. I ran a lot of IndyCar races at Kentucky but, obviously, those aren’t really going to benefit me this weekend. In the past, the track had a lot of character to it with the bumps. However, with the repave last year and other changes, the track presents different challenges now.”

We’re in the part of the NASCAR schedule where you have to deal with the extreme summer heat. How much does your workout regimen help you keep from getting fatigued in the hot conditions?

“My workout regimen is mostly for me, but it definitely doesn’t hurt inside the car and, to a certain extent, it definitely helps. There’s a certain point where, if you’re unfit, you can get tired or exhausted in the car. Some of the exercising I do is needed, but do I need to work out every day or twice a day to do my job? No, but I enjoy doing it. Our job is a lot of repetition but, more than anything, it’s endurance. So, when I’m inside the car, all of the working out that I do definitely helps me.”

CLINT BOWYER – 2017 Kentucky Race Advance

Clint Bowyer and many of his fellow drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series readily admit they haven’t quite figured out Kentucky Speedway in Sparta.

Bowyer, driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), has been competing at the 1.5-mile oval since it joined the circuit in 2011. Whether it was on the rough and bumpy surface prior to its 2016 repave or on the smooth and slick asphalt drivers experienced last year, Kentucky has proven to be a challenging venue. It will remain so when teams descend upon the track located 40 miles southwest of Cincinnati for Round No. 18 on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule.

“Kentucky is just a hard track,” Bowyer said. “Ever since I tested there early in my career, it seems like I’ve torn up a lot of equipment. Kentucky is extremely hard on stuff. I think it’s a grip-level thing. It’s so flat getting into turn three, so you get loose. You can’t get it tight enough to get through turn three before you need it loose enough to get through turns one and two.”

Bowyer has enjoyed mixed success at the track that hosted its first Cup Series race in 2011. He’s scored the 15th-most points of all active drivers in the six Cup Series races at Kentucky, highlighted by a third-place finish in 2013.

SHR has won 38 races in 896 Cup Series races over nine seasons but has yet to win at Kentucky or Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. Kentucky and Darlington (S.C.) Raceway are the only two Cup Series tracks where SHR co-owner Tony Stewart never won a Cup Series race during his historic career that netted 49 victories and three championships.

“I’d say we have some incentive,” Bowyer said. “I’d love to be the guy who gives SHR its first win at Kentucky and, if you can ever do something that Tony didn’t do, then you know it’s a heck of an achievement.”

What makes Kentucky difficult for the drivers is its ever-changing nature. For years, the track proclaimed its rough surface posed an extra challenge for drivers. In January 2016, a full repave began, featuring increased banking in turns one and two, plus an additional 3,200 feet of SAFER Barriers. The banking in turns one and two increased from 14 to 17 degrees, narrowing the racing groove in the process. Turns three and four remained at their original 14 degrees. In October 2016, the track added another layer to its racing surface in preparation for the 2017 season.

Bowyer said no matter the configuration, success will again come down to the team and driver that bring a fast car and lots of downforce.

“We say this all the time, but you have to have a lot of downforce whenever you run on a new repave,” he said. “It always comes back to the almighty downforce. Hopefully, the aerodynamics guys at SHR have done their homework and we’ll be ready for it.”

Based on recent performances, the No. 14 crew will be ready and one of the favorites. Bowyer and the No. 14 team led by second-year crew chief Mike Bugarewicz have finished second in the last two Cup Series races. SHR teammate Kevin Harvick took the victory in front of late-charging Bowyer June 25 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, and Ricky Stenhouse beat Bowyer to the finish line by mere car lengths Saturday night at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

Saturday night marked the third second-place finish for the No. 14 team that has posted four top-five performances in 2017 and scored the 10th-most points. But in NASCAR’s playoff points system, Bowyer is 15th of the 16 qualifiers, only 27 points ahead of 17th-place Joey Logano. Bowyer said he appreciates how well the team is running but, with only nine races before the playoffs begin, anything less than a victory each weekend is a disappointment.

“Second sucks, but it’s better than third,” Bowyer said. “We finished second two weeks in a row, so that’s a huge confidence booster for our team but, nonetheless, the pressure cooker is turning up. You hope you keep riding this wave and turn one of those seconds into a win.”

He’ll do that if he figures out Kentucky. 

CLINT BOWYER, Driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

 

Do you like going to Kentucky? 

“Kentucky is a great market and a fun fan base. We don’t get over there very often, so it’s cool to go to Kentucky and see everyone from that part of the country.”

COLE CUSTER – 2017 Daytona II Race Report

Cole Custer Finishes 22nd at Daytona

Haas Automation Driver Involved in Multicar Accident on Lap 99

Date: June 30-July 1, 2017

Event: Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 (Round 15 of 33)
Series: NASCAR XFINITY Series
Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (2.5-mile oval)
Format: 104 laps, broken into three stages (30 laps/30 laps/44 laps)
Start/Finish: 19th/22nd (Running, completed 104 of 104 laps)
Point Standing: 7th (338 points, 215 out of first)

Race Winner: William Byron of JR Motorsports in overtime (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Blake Koch of Kaulig Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Elliott Sadler of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-30):

  • Cole Custer started 19th, finished 34th.
  • Inclement weather on lap nine brought out the red flag, ultimately postponing the race until 12 p.m. EDT on July 1.
  • Custer ran toward the back of the field, noting tight-handling conditions throughout Stage 1.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 31-60):

  • Started third, finished 31st.
  • Custer said his Haas Automation Ford Mustang became tighter as the stage wore on.
  • On lap 50 Custer was involved in an accident, which pushed him toward the rear of the field.
  • The racecar was not damaged, but Custer was called to pit road by crew chief Jeff Meendering for four tires, fuel and adjustments.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 61-100):

  • Started 18th, finished 22nd.
  • Custer continued to note tight-handling conditions throughout the final stage.
  • He drove his Haas Automation Ford Mustang into the top-10 by lap 83.
  • On lap 99 Custer was involved in a multicar accident that brought out the red flag for nine minutes and 56 seconds.
  • Custer battled his way to finish just outside of the top-20 before the conclusion of the race.

Notes:              

  • Due to an accident not of his making in the final XFINITY Series practice on Thursday, Custer was forced to a backup racecar in the Coca-Cola Firecracker 250.
  • Nine cautions slowed the race for 35 laps.
  • William Byron won the Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 to score his second career XFINITY Series victory, his second of the season and his first at Daytona.
  • Elliott Sadler, who finished second in the Coca-Cola Firecracker 250, leads the championship standings with 553 points and has a 59-point margin over Byron, his nearest pursuer.

Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“We had to go to our backup Ford Mustang and worked really hard to get it out there. It was really fast and handled really well, and the guys worked hard all weekend. We could have been better handling-wise, but we were okay. I just got caught up in that wreck there at the end.”

KURT BUSCH – 2017 Daytona II Race Report

Event:                        Coke Zero 400 (Round 17 of 36)
Series:                       Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location:                 Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (2.5-mile oval)
Format:                    163 laps, broken into three stages (40 laps/40 laps/83 laps)
Start/Finish:           15th/28th (Accident, completed 153 of 163 laps)
Point Standing:     14th (408 points, 259 out of first) 

Race Winner:         Ricky Stenhouse Jr. of Roush Fenway Racing in overtime (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner:    Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner:    Matt Kenseth of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-40):

  • Kurt Busch started 15th, finished eighth. Earned three bonus points.
  • Pitted during competition caution on lap 17 for four tires, fuel and left-rear and right-rear wedge adjustments.
  • Restarted 20th and used bottom lane to drive up to eighth by end of stage.
  • Pitted for four tires, fuel and left-rear and right-rear wedge adjustments, but problem with right-rear tire necessitated another trip to pit road. 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 41-80):

  • Started 34th, finished fourth. Earned seven bonus points.
  • Drove all the way up to eighth prior to caution on lap 59. Stayed out and maintained track position.
  • Restarted in sixth place and began running high line.
  • Narrowly avoided No. 18 car when it cut a tire and spun right in front of Busch.
  • Resumed running top lane and used it to drive all the way up to fourth place at end of stage.
  • Pitted at completion of stage for four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment. 

Final Stage Recap (Laps 81-163):

  • Started 17th, finished 28th.
  • Continued using top lane and mentioned on lap 89: “We’re looser here.”
  • Contact with No. 75 car of Brendan Gaughan caused some right-front damage that needed to be repaired under caution.
  • Pit stop under caution on lap 92 was lengthy to fix right-front fender. After repairs were made, Busch restarted 30th.
  • When caution waved on lap 98, Busch stayed out and moved up to 19th for lap-102 restart.
  • Busch keyed his radio on lap 105 and said: “Little loose, but the car feels faster than it did at start of race.”.
  • Narrowly avoided multicar crash on lap 106. Use caution to pit and strengthen right-front fender repairs.
  • Restarted in 22nd position on lap 111.
  • Drove up to 13th by lap 143 by running the high line, which ebbed and flowed with low line.
  • Collected in multicar accident on frontstretch 10 laps from the finish. Was evaluated and released from infield care center. 

Notes:

  • This was Busch’s 33rd point-paying Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start at Daytona and his 593rd career start.
  • Busch won the season-opening Daytona 500 and entered the Coke Zero 400 looking to sweep Daytona’s slate of NASCAR Cup Series races.
  • There were 14 caution periods for a total of 51 laps.
  • Twenty-one of the 40 drivers in the Coke Zero 400 finished on the lead lap.
  • Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the Coke Zero 400 to score his second career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his first at Daytona. His margin of victory over second-place Clint Bowyer was .213 of a second.
  • Kyle Larson leads the championship point standings with 667 points and has an 18-point margin over his nearest pursuer, Martin Truex Jr.

Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“I was hoping to be a little closer to the front. I saw some crazy stuff happening on the high side. I was low and then we just got clipped in the wrong place at the wrong time. We didn’t get the Daytona sweep. Looked like the 43 just clipped us right there. I am good though. The cars are very safe. I’ve got to thank NASCAR for that. We just didn’t get the job done for Monster Energy and Haas Automation and Ford. We were really hoping for the Daytona sweep, but that’s the way it goes.”

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Kentucky 400 on Saturday, July 8 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta. The race starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN.

KEVIN HARVICK – 2017 Daytona II Race Report

Event:               Coke Zero 400 (Round 17 of 36)
Series:               Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location:          Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (2.5-mile oval)
Format:             160 laps, broken into three stages (40 laps/40 laps/80 laps)
Start/Finish:      5th/33rd (Accident, completed 105 of 163 laps)
Point Standing: 4th (557 points, 110 out of first) 

Race Winner:    Ricky Stenhouse Jr. of Roush-Fenway Racing (Ford) in overtime
Stage 1 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner:             Matt Kenseth of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-40):

  • Kevin Harvick started fifth, finished 19th.
  • The Jimmy John’s Ford stayed out under caution on lap 11 and lap 17 while racing in the top-five.
  • Raced to the lead on lap 29.
  • Got shuffled back on the final two laps of the stage to finish 19th.
  • Came to pit road for four tires and fuel at the conclusion of Stage 1. 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 41-80):

  • Started 21st, finished sixth and scored five bonus points.
  • Came to pit road under caution for four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment on lap 59.
  • Returned to pit road under caution on lap 61 to top off fuel and clean debris from the grill.
  • Narrowly avoided a multicar wreck on lap 71 while racing in 23rd and advanced to 12th following the incident.
  • Restarted 12th and raced up to sixth by the conclusion of Stage 2.
  • Stayed out at the conclusion of Stage 2 to take the lead. 

Final Stage Recap (Laps 81-160):

  • Started first, finished 33rd.
  • Surrendered the second position to come to pit road under caution for two tires and fuel on lap 91.
  • Restarted from the 14th position on lap 93 and stayed out under caution on lap 99 to rejoin the top-10.
  • Cut a tire and was collected in a multicar incident on lap 106 that ended the No. 4 team’s night. 

Notes:

  • Harvick finished sixth in Stage 2 to earn five bonus points.
  • Harvick led three times for seven laps to bring his laps-led total at Daytona to 236.
  • There were 14 caution periods for a total of 51 laps.
  • Twenty-one of the 40 drivers in the Coke Zero 400 finished on the lead lap.
  • Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the Coke Zero 400 to score his second career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his first at Daytona. His margin of victory over second-place Clint Bowyer was .213 of a second.
  • Kyle Larson leads the championship point standings with 667 points and has an 18-point margin over his nearest pursuer, Martin Truex Jr.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“We just blew a tire. I hate it for our Jimmy John’s Ford guys. That’s the way it goes. It just blew out right in the middle of the corner. I hate to wreck half the field. That’s a part of what we do.”

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Kentucky 400 on Saturday, July 8 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta. The race starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN.

CLINT BOWYER – 2017 Daytona II Race Report

Event:               Coke Zero 400 (Round 17 of 36)
Series:               Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location:          Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (2.5-mile oval)
Format:             160 laps, broken into three stages (40 laps/40 laps/80 laps)
Start/Finish:      11th/2nd (Running, completed 163 of 163 laps)
Point Standing: 10th (469 points, 198 out of first) 

Race Winner:    Ricky Stenhouse Jr. of Roush Fenway Racing in overtime (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Matt Kenseth of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-40):

  • Clint Bowyer started 11th and finished fourth to earn seven stage points.
  • Bowyer battled his way into the top-five by lap six.
  • Ran as high as second and ran in and around the top-five for the majority of the stage. 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 41-80):

  • Started eighth, finished 29th.
  • Bowyer began the stage battling among the top-five.
  • Bowyer fell out of the pack during the middle of Stage 2 and was pushed toward the back of the field.
  • During a lap-71 caution, Bowyer pitted for four tires, fuel and track bar adjustments, then pitted again on lap 74 to top off on fuel. 

Final Stage Recap (Laps 81-163):

  • Started 10th, finished second.
  • After a multicar accident on lap 106, Bowyer opted not to pit and restarted his No. 14 Mobil 1 Ford Fusion in first place.
  • Bowyer ran in and around the top-five until accident on lap 154. He restarted in the seventh position.
  • A caution on lap 159 pushed the race into overtime. Bowyer restarted in the fifth position and clawed his way to second. 

Notes:

  • This was Bowyer’s fourth top-five and 12th top-10 in 24 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Daytona.
  • Bowyer earned his third top-two, fourth top-five and seventh top-10 of 2017 with his second-place finish at Daytona.
  • This was Bowyer’s second consecutive second-place finish. He finished second last week at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.
  • There were 14 caution periods for a total of 51 laps.
  • Twenty-one of the 40 drivers in the Coke Zero 400 presented by Coca-Cola finished on the lead lap.
  • Kyle Larson leads the championship standings with 667 points and has an 18-point margin over his nearest pursuer, Martin Truex Jr.

Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1 Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“Wow, what a night. A fun race. Our Mobil 1 Ford was strong. I got shuffled out on that second stage, and that bummed me out. I wanted those stage points. It wasn’t that big of a deal because I knew that we had a hot rod to get back up front. Man, it’s just every man for himself. You’re beating and banging both sides of the car. It was a good night. These bridesmaid finishes suck. I want to win. We’re in this business to win. That’s what Tony (Stewart) and Gene (Haas) pay me to do. I’m proud of everyone on the Mobil 1 Ford team.”

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Quaker State 400 presented by Advanced Auto Parts on Saturday, July 8 at Kentucky Speedway. The race starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC.

DANICA PATRICK – 2017 Daytona II Race Report

Event:               Coke Zero 400 (Round 17 of 36)
Series:               Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location:          Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (2.5-mile oval)
Format:             160 laps, broken into three segments (40 laps/40 laps/80 laps)
Start/Finish:      10th/25th (Accident, completed 154 of 163 laps)
Point Standings: 29th (208 points, 459 out of first) 

Race Winner:    Ricky Stenhouse Jr. of Roush Racing in overtime (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner:             Matt Kenseth of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-40):

  • Danica Patrick started 10th and finished 22nd.
  • The No. 10 Aspen Dental Ford Fusion team had good grip on the right side of the car, but the left-side security was not as good as Patrick would have liked.
  • On lap 17, Patrick pitted for four tires, fuel and a front packer adjustment.
  • Patrick returned to pit road on lap 43 for four tires, fuel and a left-side tire air pressure adjustment.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 41-80):       

  • Started 22nd and finished 21st.
  • Patrick was involved in a multicar accident on lap 71 with Joey Logano, Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon. Her Aspen Dental Ford Fusion suffered minor damage, and the crew fixed it before the five-minute clock went off.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 81-160):

  • Started 27th and finished 25th.
  • Patrick dodged one big accident, but unfortunately was involved in one on lap 154 along with Matt Kenseth, Ryan Blaney, Kurt Busch and Darrell Wallace Jr. She was able to drive the car back to the pit area, but the damage was too great and she was forced to climb from the car on pit road.
  • She was checked and released from the infield care center. 

Notes:              

  • This was Patrick’s 11th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start at Daytona and her 171st career start.
  • Patrick earned 12 points in Saturday’s race at Daytona International Speedway, which puts her at 208 total points for the season thus far. She is ranked 29th in the driver point standings.
  • The race finished in overtime, going three laps past its scheduled 160-lap distance.
  • There were 14 caution periods for a total of 51 laps.
  • Only 21 drivers in the 40-car field finished on the lead lap.
  • Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the Coke Zero 400 to score his second career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his first at Daytona. His margin of victory over second-place Clint Bowyer was .213 of a second.
  • Kyle Larson leads the championship standings with 667 points and has an 18-point margin over his nearest pursuer, Martin Truex Jr. 

Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 Aspen Dental Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing: 

“I don’t really know what happened. Not totally sure. We all went low down the back straight, and then they got up to speed and we came around turn four. I am not sure what happened, but having seen the replay it looked like Ricky (Stenhouse Jr.) and Kyle (Larson) and then we ran out of room. I think maybe the 20 (Matt Kenseth) checked up or got hit from the outside, and that hit me. That is why I don’t want to be on the bottom. I promised I wouldn’t be on the bottom when it came to the end, and sure enough I go to the back saying I didn’t want to be on the bottom, but you have to race and go where the momentum goes. It is what it is. It was crazy. We got the car better early on in the race and were able to kind of get in there, but still not quite enough. Not enough. We were in the mix, though.”

 

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Kentucky 400 on Saturday night, July 8 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta. The event starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN.