Patrick Battles Back to 17th at Sonoma

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-25):

Danica Patrick started sixth and finished 37th.

● After contact with the No. 88 car at lap 14, the No. 10 Code 3 Associates Ford Fusion team sustained front-end damage. Crew chief Billy Scott called Patrick to pit road on the following lap to make repairs and get fresh tires.

● Patrick worked her way back up to the 21st position before the team made a scheduled, green-flag pit stop at lap 22 for tires and fuel.

● The No. 10 team ended Stage 1 in the 37th spot.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 26-50):

Started 20th and finished 34th.

● While a number of teams pitted between stages, Scott had Patrick stay out, and she started Stage 2 from the 20th position.

● The No. 42 car went three-wide with the No. 88 car and Patrick at lap 30. The ensuing contact sent the No. 10 Code 3 Associates Ford spinning, and Patrick was then hit by the No. 17 car.

● Scott called Patrick to pit road for fresh tires and repairs, and she restarted in the 36th spot at lap 33.

● Once again the team pitted just before the end of the stage at lap 47, and Patrick ended Stage 2 in 34th.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 51-110):

Started 18th and finished 17th.

● Patrick ran as high as fourth as the field cycled through green-flag pit stops. Scott called her to pit road at lap 80 for tires and fuel.

● After the pit stop, Patrick was scored in the 28th position. In the closing laps she was able to race her way back up to the 17th spot.

Notes:

This was Patrick’s fifth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start at Sonoma and her 170th career start.

Patrick’s 17th-place finish in the Save Mart 350k marked her career-best NASCAR Cup Series finish at the 1.99-mile road course and her fifth top-20 result of the season.

● Patrick earned 20 points in Sunday’s race at Sonoma Raceway, which puts her at 196 total points for the season thus far. She is ranked 28th in the driver point standings.

● There were six caution periods for a total of 12 laps.

● A total of 23 of the 38 drivers in the Save Mart 350k finished on the lead lap.

● Kevin Harvick won the Save Mart 350k to score his 36th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his first at Sonoma.

● Kyle Larson leads the championship standings with 659 points and has a 13-point margin over his nearest pursuer, Martin Truex Jr.

Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 Code 3 Associates Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“It definitely wasn’t the day the Code 3 Associates team was expecting, but we were able to battle back to a decent finish. The car was just awful in the final laps of the last two runs, but we made the most of it at the end.”

TSC PR

Speedway Digest Staff
Follow Me