Despite avoiding an accident on lap seven, Danica Patrick’s NASCAR debut on Saturday at Daytona International Speedway was cut short after she was caught up in a 12-car crash about half-way through her first Nationwide race.
“I can tell you that I’ll be a lot more confident and prepared for next year. This is some really difficult racing the cars are on the edge here. Someone gets a little out of shape (since the car doesn’t slow down very well) and you’re on the edge
And in other related news Tony Stewart, in a Chevrolet, celebrated his fifth Nationwide win in six attempts here by holding off Carl Edwards’ Ford in a crash filled race. Stewart’s car owner today, Kevin Harvick, finished third. Harvick owned both his and Stewart’s car.
Starting 15th, based on owner points due to rainout in qualifying, Patrick fell back through the field and after stalling exiting the pits, she felt she was getting up to speed and learning about bump drafting. Only it was crash avoidance where she needed more learning.
Describing her day she said: “On the very first accident cars came together, (I saw) smoke, I just let off the throttle I slowed and I slid down the track.” Continuing: “On the second accident, there was smoke, I couldn’t see anything. I tried to slow down and roll through the corner, but, at that time, we all hit.”
“That’s the tough thing about this racing,” she said, adding: “I can see what they’ve said all along. With these big tracks smoke (from other damaged cars) comes up and there’s nowhere to go”.
After she finished sixth last week in her stock car debut in a lower, ARCA, series event here, Patrick was looking to finish the entire race. “It’s never fun when you crash up a perfectly good car, especially when it’s not your fault,” she added.
“The disappointing part, more than anything, I just missed out the 40 or whatever laps left of getting the experience. The car was finally where I liked it. I felt confident, as a driver, to be able to run in a pack. I was finally getting the hang of it.”
Stewart agreed that Danica was in the race not to compete for the win . “That’s what she’s here for: to learn,” said the race winner who led three times for 38 laps including the last 25.
“I'm happy with our day. It's all due to the guy sitting beside me, including crew chief Butch Hylton. That's probably one of the most dominant cars I've ever had at Daytona. We felt that way about it the other day in practice.”
Coincidentally, Patrick’s car owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr., was also involved in a 10-car pillup, ending up on his roof.
Earnhardt said: "You don't want to flip one upside down and it not be spectacular. You don't want to waste your opportunity, right?” Those two wrecks cost JR Motorsports approximately $650,000.
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| photo: Éric Gilbert/Motorsport.com |
“I can tell you that I’ll be a lot more confident and prepared for next year. This is some really difficult racing the cars are on the edge here. Someone gets a little out of shape (since the car doesn’t slow down very well) and you’re on the edge
And in other related news Tony Stewart, in a Chevrolet, celebrated his fifth Nationwide win in six attempts here by holding off Carl Edwards’ Ford in a crash filled race. Stewart’s car owner today, Kevin Harvick, finished third. Harvick owned both his and Stewart’s car.
Starting 15th, based on owner points due to rainout in qualifying, Patrick fell back through the field and after stalling exiting the pits, she felt she was getting up to speed and learning about bump drafting. Only it was crash avoidance where she needed more learning.
Describing her day she said: “On the very first accident cars came together, (I saw) smoke, I just let off the throttle I slowed and I slid down the track.” Continuing: “On the second accident, there was smoke, I couldn’t see anything. I tried to slow down and roll through the corner, but, at that time, we all hit.”
“That’s the tough thing about this racing,” she said, adding: “I can see what they’ve said all along. With these big tracks smoke (from other damaged cars) comes up and there’s nowhere to go”.
After she finished sixth last week in her stock car debut in a lower, ARCA, series event here, Patrick was looking to finish the entire race. “It’s never fun when you crash up a perfectly good car, especially when it’s not your fault,” she added.
“The disappointing part, more than anything, I just missed out the 40 or whatever laps left of getting the experience. The car was finally where I liked it. I felt confident, as a driver, to be able to run in a pack. I was finally getting the hang of it.”
Stewart agreed that Danica was in the race not to compete for the win . “That’s what she’s here for: to learn,” said the race winner who led three times for 38 laps including the last 25.
 |
| photo: Éric Gilbert/Motorsport.com |
“I'm happy with our day. It's all due to the guy sitting beside me, including crew chief Butch Hylton. That's probably one of the most dominant cars I've ever had at Daytona. We felt that way about it the other day in practice.”
Coincidentally, Patrick’s car owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr., was also involved in a 10-car pillup, ending up on his roof.
Earnhardt said: "You don't want to flip one upside down and it not be spectacular. You don't want to waste your opportunity, right?” Those two wrecks cost JR Motorsports approximately $650,000.
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