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DANICA PATRICK – 2017 Charlotte II Race Report

Event:               Bank of America 500 (Round 30 of 36)
Series:               Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location:          Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Format:             334 laps, broken into three segments (90 laps/90 laps/154 laps)
Note:                 Race ended in overtime, going 3 laps past its scheduled 334-lap distance
Start/Finish:      12th/38th (Accident, completed 263 of 337 laps)
Point Standings: 28th (441 points)

Race Winner:    Martin Truex Jr. of Furniture Row Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner:             Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-90):

  • Danica Patrick started 12th and finished 25th.
  • The No. 10 Ford Warriors in Pink Ford Fusion team dropped to 18th on the initial start and continued to lose ground as Patrick battled handling issues during the stage.
  • The team pitted at lap 37 for tires, fuel and chassis adjustments and the addition of tape to the grille. When the team pitted again between stages, they went back on the chassis changes and made air pressure adjustments in an effort to improve the car’s handling. 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 91-180):

  • Started 21st and finished 23rd.
  • The No. 10 Ford Warriors in Pink team continued to make adjustments to the car in an effort to gain ground. Patrick noted improvement midway through the stage.
  • The team pitted three times – at laps 117, 137 and 182. On each trip to pit road Patrick took four tires and fuel, and the team made wedge or air pressure adjustments to address handling issues. 

Final Stage Recap (Laps 181-334):

  • Started 22nd and finished 38th.
  • Patrick was scored in the 22nd position when the team made a scheduled, green-flag pit stop at lap 225. Three laps later, she was forced to serve a pass-through penalty for the pit crew being over the wall too soon on the stop. As a result of the penalty, Patrick went two laps down to the leader and dropped as far back as 28th.
  • At lap 266, Patrick went low in turn two to avoid the No. 38 car, but it spun down the track and collected the No. 10 Ford Warriors in Pink Ford. Patrick’s car sustained significant right-front damage that ended the team’s day.
  • Patrick was evaluated and released from the infield care center following the incident. 

Notes:              

  • This was Patrick’s 11th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway and her 184th career NASCAR Cup Series start.
  • There were 10 caution periods for a total of 44 laps.
  • Twenty-four of the 40 drivers in the Bank of America 500 finished on the lead lap.
  • Martin Truex Jr. won the Bank of America 500 to score his 13th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his sixth of the season and his second at Charlotte Motor Speedway. His margin of victory over second-place Chase Elliott was .911 of a second.
  • Truex leads the championship standings with 3,106 points and has a 34-point margin over his nearest pursuer, Kyle Larson. 

Next Up:                                                                        

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Oct. 15 Alabama 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. The event starts at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC.