Danica Patrick says Kasey Kahne must have been “desperate” when he clipped her car and sent her crashing into a wall during Sunday’s Sprint Cup race.
The incident occurred after Kahne says he was just trying to pass Patrick but accidentally clipped her, sending her car headfirst into the wall. Patrick actually got out and walked toward the track after the crash, throwing up her arms in frustration at Kahne as he passed.
“I saw him chase me down the track and then the next thing I know I was getting spun up the track. I was passing him. He was behind me in the right rear. I don’t know what kind of day he was having. I just heard he was a lap down actually. I feel bad if he felt like he was put in a position to have to be that desperate a lap down. It’s just unfortunate; he must be having a very tough time,” Danica Patrick said.
Kahne maintains that it was an accident, however, and says he felt bad afterward because the two of them have never had any problems with each other.
“I felt really bad because it was far from anything than just trying to hold my position. I’ve never had an issue with Danica at all,” Kahne said.
NASCAR officials said there would be an investigation as to whether Patrick will be fined for leaving her car and approaching her track, which is against the rules.
“Rules are in place to keep the drivers safe and we want to just review everything that took place there and see if there is anything we need to react to this week,” NASCAR Executive Vice President Steve O’Donnell said.
This isn’t the first time Danica Patrick has had an issue with another driver and let her temper flare; last summer she had a similar incident happen with Dale Earnhardt Jr., but that time she cursed him over the radio and then hit him back.
“The brakes got worse and worse and worse and I probably shouldn’t have been racing as hard as I was when we ran into the back of Danica. But I went into that corner and mashed the brakes to the floor. I pumped it three times all the way to the floor and then ran into her. There wasn’t anything I could do. It sucks. I don’t like running into Danica because it gets a little too much attention, but I’m sorry for that,” Earnhardt said. “I mean, as hard as I hit her, what the hell did she think I was doing? Trying to wreck her?. We ain’t got no problem. It’s not like we were having a problem out on the racetrack with her. It’s not like I just drew her name out of a hat and decided she was the one I was going to run into tonight.”