Following an impressive showing at the Atlanta Motor Speedway over Labor Day weekend, Danica Patrick finished up the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup regular season in Richmond, Virginia on Saturday. Patrick finished in 16th place during the Federated Auto Parts 400 held at the Richmond International Raceway.
“It was a good day,” said Patrick. “Everyone on the GoDaddy team worked hard; we had good night. I’m proud of where we have been the last two weeks, and tonight was by far our best run at Richmond. It was a good job by the team.”
Patrick started the race in 13th and ran between 10th and 20th during the entire race. On lap 330 Patrick was in 16th and one lap down when the caution flag was raised due to a fan that had scaled a retaining fence on the track. The caution allowed Patrick to gain a lap via the beneficiary rule (also known as the “lucky dog” rule), though she remained in 16th for the rest of the race.
“If we could have got one more caution, it would have been nice,” said Patrick. “But it didn’t happen. Still, I’m proud of these guys and for GoDaddy. It’s our best run here by far. We’ve been testing a lot, so hopefully everyone can wind down on Sunday before we get ready for Chicago.”
Saturday’s race was the final race of this year’s Sprint Cup regular season. Next weekend will begin the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Sixteen drivers will compete in ten races to determine the series winner. The drivers were selected to compete in the Chase based on their wins and point totals during the regular season.
Patrick is not part of the Chase, but the sixth seed going into the series is Patrick’s Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kevin Harvick. Harvick won two races during the regular season and finished fifth at Richmond this past weekend.
The first race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, the MyAFibStory.com 400, will take place on September 14 at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois.