Rookie NASCAR Sprint Cup series driver Danica Patrick went to school at Martinsville Speedway Sunday. And by all accounts she graduated with an A.
Forced to start in the rear of the field after her Stewart-Haas Racing crew was forced to change in the engine in her Chevy, Patrick’s day looked to be going sour early. On lap 15 Patrick spun out but managed to avoid contact with the wall. She would lose a lap and then another when leader and eventual winner Jimmie Johnson passed her on lap 148.
“I think you take what the car gives you and Tony Gibson (crew chief) has a really good track record here, he is a great crew chief, and my car was good all day.,” Patrick said. “We kind of balanced her out after being a little loose to a little tight but we got the GoDaddy.com car back up there. We obviously went down real early with that spin.”
Patrick would slowly work her way back towards the front of the field gaining back her two lost laps by la 308. On lap 370 she was banging doors with her old Nationwide series boss Dale Earnhardt Jr., and later on lap 465 she would cross paths with Earnhardt again. While entering turn three her Chevy was pushed from behind by Brian Vickers sending her up into and spinning Earnhardt.
From that point however, Patrick methodically worked her way forward.
“I feel that is one of the things that I am most proud about is coming back from two laps down and being on the last lap,” Patrick said.
Patrick survived to come home 12, her best finish since an eighth at the season opening race at Daytona.
“Yeah, well, never being at Martinsville before, I didn’t know what to expect,” Patrick said. “All I knew was that it was going to be a little bit crazy. The bumping and banging sure gets going. “
“I tried to guard the inside right there at the end and then (Brian) Vickers gave me a bump and I get it,” she added. “I was trying to defend and hold my position. We still came away with a 12th place finish. I felt like I made a lot of passes. I feel like I just passed all day. But I’m sure a lot of people do that on a short track. It was a nice day for us. It was nice to have a good weekend. We’ve had quite a few bad ones since Daytona. So, we’ll take this and get rolling into the summer because we don’t have a break until July.”
For more NASCAR News and NASCAR Commentary, follow me on Twitter and Facebook or visit CupScene.com.
Comments