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  • Danica Patrick Calls Kasey Kahne “Desperate” After He Causes Hard Airborne Crash

    Danica Patrick Calls Kasey Kahne “Desperate” After He Causes Hard Airborne Crash

    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.”

  • Danica Patrick Has “Settled In” To Career, Says Richard Petty

    Danica Patrick has proven herself on the track a number of times, showing she can handle a race car with the best of her peers. However, her career–at least according to a guy who’s been around long enough to see many launched on the track–seems to have stalled.

    Richard Petty has long been vocal about his thoughts on Patrick and her abilities on the track, saying in 2014 that although she knows how to drive fast, that doesn’t make her a race car driver. He also commented on the fact that she’s a woman in a male-dominated sport, which can be viewed as a novelty.

    “Where fans have bought into the hype of the marketing, to think she’s a race car driver. She can go fast, and I’ve seen her go fast. She drives the wheels off it when she goes fast…she’s not a race car driver. There’s a difference. The King always had that stupid saying, but it’s true, ‘Lots of drivers can drive fast, but very few drivers can race.’ Danica has been the perfect example of somebody who can qualify better than what she runs. She can go fast, but she can’t race,” Petty said.

    Petty had more to say after Sunday’s Sprint Cup series, in which Danica placed 35th and suffered yet another crash. According to Racing Reference, Patrick has an average starting position of 22nd and an average finish position of 23rd, and she has only placed as high as the top ten.

    Petty said over the weekend that Danica Patrick has gotten comfortable where she is, right in the middle, and refused to comment on what she needs to do in order to win, leading to speculation that he doesn’t believe she ever will.

    “She just settled in where she at. She ain’t gotten no better or no worse,” Petty said.

    Danica hasn’t responded to Petty’s remarks, but she has received quite a bit of support online from fans, many of whom took to Instagram to tell her to shake off the outcome of the last race and focus on the next one.

  • Danica Patrick Pretends To Be A Lyft Driver For A Day, Surprises Fans

    Danica Patrick Pretends To Be A Lyft Driver For A Day, Surprises Fans

    NASCAR star Danica Patrick became an ordinary Lyft car driver for a day and surprised her riders with her mad driving sills.

    Wearing a grey knitted cap, black leather jacket and a pair of shades, Danica Patrick was able to conceal her real identity. Those passengers she picked up in Charlotte, North Carolina experienced an exciting ride with the pro racer.

    Danica Patrick entertained her passengers with a few moves on the street and even tried to get other drivers to race her, but of course she was still very careful considering she was driving on the streets of North Carolina and not on the circuit.

    “I try and get in, like, 500 miles on Sundays, and I try and do it in, like, under four hours,” Patrick said to one unsuspecting passenger when she tried to give clues as to her real identity. In the video, she repeatedly said she loved making “left turns.”

    However, her passengers were totally unaware that they got a ride from a NASCAR star. One guy described Danica Patrick as “awesome” when the she asked of his opinion about “the girl who races.” Another rider said his favorite race car driver was Danica Patrick and he had no idea he was with the very person.

    When she revealed her identity, the passengers were all surprised. They all took selfies with the star before parting. Everybody seemed to have enjoyed their once-in-lifetime joy ride.

    Watch Danica Patrick Take These Unsuspecting Passengers for a Joy Ride

    On Sunday, Danica Patrick will be driving for Stewart-Haas Racing, her new team, with new crew chief, Billy Scott and sponsor, Nature’s Bakery. The racer is keeping her hopes up that the changes will bring her first Sprint Cup victory in five years on the track this year.

    Lyft had previously enlisted Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant and NFL star Jerry Rice as Lyft drivers.

  • Danica Patrick Fined $50k For Deliberate Crash On David Gilliland

    Things got heated up on Martinsville Speedway on Sunday when driver Danica Patrick intentionally crashed into David Gilliland’s No. 38 car during a Sprint Cup race.

    The collision is reported to have stemmed from an earlier scuffle between the two drivers, in which Gilliland pushed Patrick’s No. 10 Chevrolet up against the outer wall.

    This isn’t the first time that Patrick and Gilliland have bumped heads – or cars – on the track. Ever since the former 2005 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year transitioned to NASCAR in 2010, she and Gilliland frequently shared the same spot in the races.

    During a Kansas Speedway race in 2013, Patrick warned, “He tries to take me out every time. Tell his spotter that I’m coming after him if he does it again. In fact, I might just do it right now.”

    Gilliland responded to the “threat” with a brief “Shut up and race.”

    As a result of the offense, Patrick was given a $50,000 fine and took off 25 series championship driver points. She is also banned from participating in any of the NASCAR races until the end of the year. It is worth noting that the damage on Patrick’s car was far greater than that of Gilliland’s

    Aside from Patrick, Matt Kenseth also got penalties when he also deliberately wrecked Joey Logano’s No. 22 car on the same race.

    In a previous race on the Kansas Speedway, Logano had hit Kenseth, causing the latter to spin out of the lead. Kenseth claims that the contact was intentional, which prompted him to retaliate.

    NASCAR gave Kenseth a two-race suspension as well as a six-month probation period.

  • Danica Patrick Lets Temper Take Over, Gets $50,000 Reprimand From NASCAR

    Danica Patrick has let her temper fly before on the track, but on Sunday she finally pushed the boundaries a bit too far when she reportedly deliberately slammed into another driver as retribution, earning her an official Behavioral Penalty from NASCAR officials.

    Patrick allegedly wanted revenge after she and fellow driver David Gilliland got tangled up on the track on Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, slamming into his car twice before heading back to the garage. While it’s unclear whether Gilliland hit her on purpose, things got heated between them over the radio before Danica slammed him up against the wall and then hit him from behind. She has since been fined $50,000, docked 25 points from the Sprint Cup Series numbers, and is on probation until December.

    Danica Patrick made headlines earlier this year when she and longtime friend Dale Earnhardt Jr. had an altercation on the track at Kentucky Speedway; after Earnhardt reportedly had trouble with his brakes and accidentally tapped the back of her car, Patrick became agitated and slammed into him in retaliation. Later, Dale said he didn’t understand why she thought he would hit her on purpose.

    “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.”

  • Danica Patrick, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Feuding After Kentucky Crash?

    Danica Patrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have been longtime friends, but the NASCAR drivers had a bit of bad blood between them on Saturday at Kentucky Speedway, and now fans are wondering whether they’ll make up in time to take the track in New Hampshire this weekend.

    The trouble began when Earnhardt Jr. crashed into the back of Patrick’s car on accident after having issues with his brakes. The incident angered Patrick and she reportedly cursed at him over the radio and then hit him back as the two of them were leaving the track. After the race, reporters say, she stalked off and wouldn’t speak to reporters, but Dale talked a bit about what happened afterward and seemed confused as to why she was so upset.

    “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.”

    Earnhardt still ended up finishing ahead of Patrick, which may have had something to do with her frustration; as one of the few female drivers on the NASCAR circuit, Danica Patrick has received quite a bit of attention from the media and from her fellow drivers, and not all of it is positive. Racing legend Richard Petty had a few choice words to say about her, telling reporters that she’s not a race car driver.

    “She can go fast, and I’ve seen her go fast. She drives the wheels off it when she goes fast…she’s not a race car driver. There’s a difference,” Petty said.

  • Danica Patrick Takes Fastest Time In Practice After Wreck Shakes Drivers Up

    Danica Patrick took the highest time in Friday’s practice run ahead of the Coke Zero 400 after a wreck led some drivers to sit out.

    Patrick topped 198 mph during the practice, leading Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, and Kasey Kahne to round out the top five. A huge wreck at the beginning of the hour-long run involved 11 cars and shook up some of the drivers, who either opted out of the last practice before Sunday’s race or chose to do single-car runs.

    Patrick has had a good season after being on the receiving end of some harsh criticism from fellow drivers, including veteran Richard Petty, who has spoken out more than once about Danica. Petty said last year that Patrick gets attention because she’s good at marketing herself, but at the end of the day, she’s not a race car driver.

    “That’s where I have a problem. Where fans have bought into the hype of the marketing, to think she’s a race car driver. She can go fast, and I’ve seen her go fast. She drives the wheels off it when she goes fast…she’s not a race car driver. There’s a difference. The King always had that stupid saying, but it’s true, ‘Lots of drivers can drive fast, but very few drivers can race.’ Danica has been the perfect example of somebody who can qualify better than what she runs. She can go fast, but she can’t race,” Petty said.

    Friday was the final practice before Sunday’s race, but Danica Patrick will join her fellow drivers on Saturday for qualifying.

  • Steve Byrnes: NASCAR Announces Loses Battle With Cancer

    Steve Byrnes, Fox Sports NASCAR announcer, lost a lengthy battle with cancer on Tuesday at the age of 56.

    His family issued a statement via Fox Sports.

    “Mr. Steven Patrick Byrnes, age 56, of Fort Mill, S.C., went to be with the Lord on April 21, 2015,” the statement read. “Steve enjoyed a successful and highly respected television broadcasting career for 30 years. He joined the FOX Sports family in 2001, hosting and reporting for multiple NASCAR programs and serving as a pit road reporter for NASCAR on FOX’s broadcast of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races from 2001-2014.”

    The Fox network released a statement about Steve Byrnes on Tuesday to Us Weekly.

    “A symbol of strength, compassion and dignity, Steve, 56, was a source of inspiration to everyone, sharing his fight in a very courageous and public way. Honored just days ago at Bristol Motor Speedway with the FOOD CITY 500 IN SUPPORT OF STEVE BYRNES AND STAND UP TO CANCER, race fans, race teams, NASCAR and track officials, co-workers, friends and family came together to surround him with a remarkable display of love and respect. A shining example of husband, father, friend and consummate professional, Steve Byrnes will forever be remembered as one of the good guys–his time with us cherished and appreciated.”

    In addition to his time with Fox Sports, Steve Byrnes reported for CBS, TNN, and WTBS. At the time of his passing, he was a play-by-play announcer and co-host for NASCAR.

    Many members of the NASCAR family are mourning the passing of Steve Byrnes. He had become personal friends with some of the NASCAR drivers, including Danica Patrick and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Many players shared their sorrow via Twitter.

    Condolences are likely coming from all parts of the country to Steve Byrnes’s family and NASCAR friends. May they find solace in the contributions he made throughout his lengthy career.

  • Danica Patrick Defends GoDaddy Puppy Ad, Scoffs At Our Culture

    Danica Patrick was disappointed that she didn’t get to be in another GoDaddy Super Bowl ad this year.

    Her sponsor, GoDaddy, always has great Super Bowl ads. Some of them are a little controversial, not because of their message, but because of
    Danica Patrick’s lack of clothing.

    This year’s ad also felt the sting of controversy, but for a completely different reason.

    The ad featured a golden retriever puppy who went to extraordinary lengths to find his way home. When his owner finds him, she is relieved. Not because she loves the puppy, but because she has already sold him through a website built with GoDaddy.

    Danica Patrick was to appear as the buyer, driving away with the puppy.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugXAl0mQcjI

    Me and by bae resting for a few min during nascar media day.

    A photo posted by Danica Patrick (@danicapatrick) on

    Well, needless to say, pro-animal rights activists took issue with the commercial.

    They said the GoDaddy ad promoted the online sale of animals and was just plain offensive in its premise.

    However, Danica Patrick was left feeling jaded.

    She said, “I don’t think anything in this culture surprises me anymore. People have opinions about everything and especially when you get into that world of animal rights or tree rights or whatever rights, they all have an opinion.”

    GoDaddy CEO Blake Irving blogged about the ad being scrapped due to an “emotional response” from the public. He was sure to let everyone know that Buddy, the golden retriever, “came to us from a reputable and loving breeder in California. He’s now part of the GoDaddy family as our Chief Companion Officer, and he lives permanently with one of our longtime employees.”

    Danica Patrick admitted that she found and bought her dog, a Miniature Siberian Husky named Dallas, online.

    Better late than never….she wouldn't even show her face. Haha! She saying "mom your embarrassing me!"

    A photo posted by Danica Patrick (@danicapatrick) on

    “I looked to find my dog online,” she said. “Sorry. I did. I love my dog and I take great care of her.”​

    What do you think? Did GoDaddy do the right thing by pulling the ad or do you think animal rights activists were overreacting?

  • GoDaddy Announces ‘Unpredictable’ Super Bowl Ad

    GoDaddy, a company known almost as much for its Super Bowl ads as its actual services, announced that it will be appearing in a spot during the Super Bowl yet again in 2015.

    While typically, the company runs multiple ads during the big game, it will be running just a single 30-second spot this time around. This is, according to AdAge, because the company wants to leave room in the budget for international marketing.

    GoDaddy has historically run racy ads with scantily-clad women, but more recent campaigns have relied more on humor. You may recall the Jean-Claude Van Damme ads, for example.

    The coming Super Bowl spot is called Journey Home, and will feature “an adorable puppy”. It will be about “empowering business owners” to succeed online.”

    While GoDaddy is not revealing it, there will be a twist. The company says not to expect a predictable commercial. One predictable element, however, will be the return of Danica Patrick, who will co-star alongside the puppy.

    “We are taking an advertising tradition – a tried-and-true Super Bowl commercial convention – and turning it upside down,” said GoDaddy CMO Barb Rechterman. “People love cute, little puppies in Super Bowl commercials, right? The power of our next Super Bowl ad is how it pivots from what you think is a traditional ‘Hallmark’ style commercial into something unexpected, while highlighting how our products help a small business owner drive their business online.”

    “I’m pretty sure this little GoDaddy puppy is going to steal the show,” said Patrick. “Our Super Bowl commercials have evolved over the years, and it’s been pretty cool to be a part of the transformation. I love this year’s surprise ending. I really don’t think people will see the punch line coming.”

    This will be the eleventh-consecutive Super Bowl to include a GoDaddy ad.

    Image via GoDaddy/YouTube

  • Danica Patrick Continues to Drive Pink Car For Breast Cancer Awareness

    Danica Patrick will once again race in a pink Chevrolet SS as she heads to Martinsville Speedway in Virginia this weekend for the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 race. Patrick also drove the pink version of her number 10 GoDaddy car at the Charlotte Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway the past two weekends.

    The car is painted pink to raise awareness for breast cancer. October is breast cancer awareness month and the paint job is part of GoDaddy’s “Put the Brakes on Breast Cancer” program.

    This week a new twist on the paint job will be seen in Martinsville. As part of the GoDaddy program fans were encouraged to donate at least $10 to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Fans who did so were able to place their name or a loved one’s name on the car. The car now has hundreds of names of people affected by breast cancer featured on it, including some that Patrick herself donated for.

    “GoDaddy has done a lot to raise awareness about breast cancer,” said Patrick. “For this week we have a lot of names on the car of people that are affected by breast cancer. I know I put a few on there, including Holly Cain. I know the Gibson’s donated and put some names on there as did others from SHR (Stewart Haas Racing), GoDaddy, and of course the fans. It’s just a good way to raise awareness and remember the people affected by this terrible disease.”

    Holly Cain is a NASCAR.com reporter who has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

    As for the race itself, Patrick has only had three starts at the short Martinsville track. She finished 32nd during her last outing at Martinsville this past March. Despite that recent history Patrick this week stated that she and crew chief Tony Gibson are hoping to “put together a good run” for the names featured on the side of the car.

  • Danica Patrick Discusses Relationship With Stenhouse

    Danica Patrick revealed a softer side in a piece for the Derek Jeter-founded sports website, The Player’s Tribune.

    Patrick revealed what it is like to make a not-so-normal workplace relationship work and what keeps two aggressive race car drivers in love and why that can sometimes be a difficult task.

    “The sports media prefers simple narratives: Good vs. Evil. Teammates vs. Enemies. NASCAR can be a lot more complicated. The truth is that there are more misunderstandings than understandings between Ricky and I, because our only mentality is to go flat-out. Hard, hard, hard.”

    Danica Patrick added, “I want to take care of him out there just like I would a teammate, but at the same time, I want to beat him because I respect him so damn much as a driver. Right now, only 13 points separate us in the standings, so beating him means beating someone who is really good, which is my job.”

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    Happy birthday @stenhousejr!!! I love you!

    View on Instagram

    Patrick is obviously very much in love with Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. So much so that the couple sleeps side-by-side on many nights and have a dog together, which, interestingly, has its own Twitter account.

    But, aside from all of the special circumstances that surround Danica Patrick and her love, and the added attention one garners being a female race car driver, their relationship seems to be running along quite smoothly. By their standards, anyway.

    Danica Patrick says of Stenhouse, Jr.,

    “Look, if it’s crazy to want to go to sleep next to the person who ran your car off the road going 200 miles per hour earlier that day, then I’m certifiable. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is a balls-to-the wall, go-hard-or-go-home, lift-only-when-you-see-God-twice kind of NASCAR driver. He’s Ford. I’m Chevy. It’s the Montagues and the Capulets. He’s grits. I’m granola. We’re the opposite in almost every way.”

    Patrick added, “He’s also extremely cuddly, which really helps his cause, because sometimes I’m not very happy with him.”

    That could be said of many good relationships, right?

  • Danica Patrick Opens Up About Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Relationship On Derek Jeter’s New Players’ Tribune

    Super-star athletes are turning into editors, and NASCAR driver Danica Patrick just joined their ranks. Patrick wrote an editorial about her love life titled “Relationship Status: Normal-ish” for the Players’ Tribune. At the bottom, the piece read “Danica Patrick / Senior Editor”.

    “Look, if it’s crazy to want to go to sleep next to the person who ran your car off the road going 200 miles per hour earlier that day, then I’m certifiable. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is a balls-to-the wall, go-hard-or-go-home, lift-only-when-you-see-God-twice kind of NASCAR driver. He’s Ford. I’m Chevy. It’s the Montagues and the Capulets. He’s grits. I’m granola. We’re the opposite in almost every way,” she wrote.

    What’s the secret of the relationship then? “He’s also extremely cuddly,” she wrote. But then, the piece begins to get more serious as Patrick begins to discuss more than just her relationship, and goes into a statement about the sports world at large. “The sports media prefers simple narratives: Good vs. Evil. Teammates vs. Enemies. NASCAR can be a lot more complicated.”

    Who is responsible for giving athletes a voice beyond a soundbite at ESPN? Derek Jeter. Although he is no longer a Yankee, Jeter has partnered with Legendary Entertainment to launch the Players’ Tribune, according to the Hollywood reporter.

    “I am working with other athletes, with editors and with producers to create a platform that gives us a chance to say what’s on our minds. It’s called The Players’ Tribune. Over the next few months, we’ll be introducing a strong core of athlete editors and contributors who will shape the site into an online community filled with first-person stories and behind-the-scenes content,” he wrote, “My goal is for the site to ultimately transform how athletes and newsmakers share information, bringing fans closer than ever to the games they love.”

    What can we expect next from this website? “The Players’ Tribune is a platform for athletes to tell their unfiltered stories,” editorial director Gary Hoenig told the Hollywood Reporter, “They can discuss whatever they want. The common denominator is content will always be fresh and direct from the source.” According to the Wrap, the next editor-athlete for the Players’ Tribune is set to be announced on October 16th.

  • Danica Patrick Out Of Chase For Sprint Cup

    Danica Patrick is no longer in the running for the Chase for the Sprint Cup this year, as she failed to finish in Victory Lane at Richmond, but she certainly has proven herself a worthy member of the Stewart-Haas Racing team with her performance this season.

    Although she missed out on the top 15 and needed another “Lucky Dog” to remain on the lead lap, it was still a career-best result at the track.

    “It was a good day. 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,” said Patrick about the night after the race. “If we could have got one more caution, it would have been nice. 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.”

    Patrick, who started racing with go-karts at 10, was the first woman to win a Sprint Cup pole after qualifying first for the Daytona 500 in February 2013.

    Patrick made history again by coming home sixth in the Oral-B USA 500 in Atlanta earlier this month, which was the best ever for a woman at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. She took the record from Janet Guthrie who finished 10th in March 1978.  This is not only Patrick’s best result of the season but also the best finish of her Sprint Cup career.

    Along with her career-best sixth in Atlanta, the 32-year-old racer has had nine top-20 finishes this year, just one short of tying her mark from last season. Patrick finished 28th in the Sprint Cup standings, with Richmond marking the end of the regular season.

    The ten-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup begins in Chicago, with 16 drivers. Patrick’s Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick are in the hunt.

  • Danica Patrick Closes Out the Season at Richmond

    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.

  • Danica Patrick Sets Record At Atlanta Motor Speedway

    Seemingly coming from nowhere, Danica Patrick of Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) finished in sixth place at the Oral-B USA 500 leg of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series over the Labor Day Weekend. The race was held at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, and Patrick now holds the record for a woman at the track, since Janet Guthrie had finished 10th on it in 1978.

    The race has been Patrick’s best finish for the season as well as a career-best, toppling her seventh-place finish at Kansas Speedway earlier this year. This finish also comes after six consecutive races for Patrick where she couldn’t break into the top 15, making her an unexpected force to be reckoned with on the track.

    Patrick started the race in 27th place out of 43, but methodically made her way closer to the front, fighting her way back up twice from a lap down. She credited her progress to key adjustments that SHR crew chief Tony Gibson made that improved her car’s performance and made her more comfortable in the driver’s seat. “The car was really good. I had one lap where I felt like I was playing a video game out there. I was just driving around the top side of everybody. It was a little more human-like after that. Gibson and everybody did a good job,” she said.

    What gave her the final edge was a great last pit stop that set her up on the preferred line at the track for restarts, seventh on the inside. “Obviously the pit stop at the end that was 11 seconds was so good. There were a couple of rough ones in the beginning but that one made up for it because it put us seventh on that restart, and we had a good line on the inside and didn’t get caught up on the outside,” said Patrick.

    Although she wasn’t able to hold her lead in the last two laps, Patrick is still high on the result of the race, as she’d only been hoping to get into the top 15. “I am just so happy for the team,” she said.

    Despite it not being her favorite track, she is reportedly ready and looking forward to racing in the regular-season finale at Richmond International Raceway on September 6.

  • Danica Patrick Gears Up For the Oral-B USA 500

    Hot off of her 27th-place finish in the Irwin Tools Night Race last weekend at the Bristol Motor Speedway, Danica Patrick is now preparing for a big Labor Day weekend at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Instead of one last 2014 cookout, Patrick will be entertaining NASCAR fans at this year’s Oral-B USA 500.

    The 325-lap event on the Atlanta Motor Speedway’s 1.5-mile track is the 25th race in this year’s Sprint Cup Series. Patrick considers the oval track one of the fastest in the series – and one of the most challenging.

    “The first time I raced there was in 2012 and I did both Nationwide and (Sprint) Cup,” said Patrick. “That seems like a long time ago and that was only my fifth Cup start, so I feel a little more confident and knowledgeable than I did then. It’s a fast place. The tires definitely go off with the surface and the line moves around a lot. It’s a big weekend with a lot going on for GoDaddy, Coke Zero, and Chevrolet, so there’s a lot off the track, as well. But I’m looking forward to it.”

    Patrick drives the number 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet car for the Stewart-Haas Racing team.

    According to Patrick, she will be leaning heavily on her crew chief, Tony Gibson, during this weekend’s race. Gibson logged two wins at the Atlanta Motor Speedway during the three years he was crew chief for Jeff Gordon.

    Patrick finished 21st in last year’s AdvoCare 500 race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Though disappointing, Patrick considers that race a “good” one and an overall improvement for her crew.

    “I remember that we weren’t good in the first practice,” said Patrick. “Tony Gibson and the guys worked really hard and we qualified well and then continued to get better throughout the weekend. It was a good race for us. It was a little tight at the end but, overall, we improved. The pit crew was really good and they were quick on each stop.”

  • Danica Patrick Shares Her Experience At Bristol

    Danica Patrick worked hard to get herself and her car ready for Bristol and said that it is one of her favorite tracks and a race she looks forward to every season.

    Patrick drives the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing and has raced five times at Bristol in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

    Patrick recently talked about Bristol and how she felt about the track and the race in general.

    “I’ve liked Bristol since I went there the first time. I remember when I set foot onto that track, it was the day before, it was load-in day and I looked out there and you’re standing on the straightaway, but it sure seems like a corner. It’s a very cool track and a spectacle for the fans. I feel like it’s always the one that everyone says, ‘I want to come see a Bristol race.’ It’s always entertaining there for the fans and, hopefully, we can put on another good show for them this week.”


    Patrick spent a lot of time testing the car to see how it would handle the recent rule changes and said that she was excited to try it out and see how it did during an actual race.

    “I think there are two ends of the spectrum that work. There is the speedway style of racing flat out and there it is easy to drive, and we are bunched up. But I don’t think it’s fair to have all of our racing like that. I know it’s entertaining when we do go to speedways, but I think you need tracks that are all about getting your car really fast. The other end of it is when your car really slides around and moves around a lot, and tracks like Atlanta and Homestead, when you slide around, it creates opportunities for passing. We need to figure out how to get the cars to transition from the beginning to the end of the run because that is what is going to create passing. Making it easier to drive is going to make it like a speedway.”

    Patrick had been gradually improving at Bristol. She finished 28th in March 2013 and then 26th last August. This past March, she finished 18th. She had hoped to continue to improve and place even closer to the top, but wasn’t able to make it happen.

    The car wasn’t easy for Patrick to handle and while her crew attempted to fix the problems, the car continued to be inconsistent on corners. On lap 263, Patrick was tagged from behind by a fellow competitor and spun out in turn two to bring out the caution flag. Her car was not damaged, but it caused her to drop back to 35th place and she ended up finishing the race in 27th place.

    “It was just a rough night,” Patrick said. “Our GoDaddy car just wasn’t that good from the beginning, and that kind of put us behind. The guys kept working on it with their adjustments, and they got it headed in the right direction, but it was just too late by that point. I think we all just did the best we could to hang in there, make the car better and try to make a good night out of it. It wasn’t the finish that we wanted, but we didn’t give up.”

    She hopes to do better next Spring.

  • Danica Patrick: Just Like Us. Sometimes.

    Danica Patrick: Just Like Us. Sometimes.

    Danica Patrick has endured a few exciting changes recently.

    The lovely racing starlet has teamed up with the Florida Lottery, and as a result has added a little pink to her No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet. The Florida Lottery has come on board to co-sponsor Danica Patrick for the July 5th Coke Zero 400 at the Daytona International Speedway and on Nov. 16th at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

    The day will be full of contests from the Florida Lottery for the fans of Danica Patrick. Some will have the privilege of meeting the fast female, others will get to hang out with her pit crew. That sounds fun!

    Still, the luckiest Danica Patrick fan will get to take home her worn fire suit from the race.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLuwo2HSscQ

    Racing company Stewart-Haas Racing made the announcement via Twitter:

    In other big news, it seems that racing super star Danica Patrick can also be…well…just like us.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFNXRIe9jU0

    She celebrated a milestone that many of us peasants also celebrate: Her puppy’s solid poop!

    Yes. Yes it is.

    If you’ve ever had a dog with digestive issues, this is totally acceptable.

    Danica Patrick’s puppy, 4-month-old miniature Siberian husky Dallas Stenhouse (who happens to have his own Twitter account), has digestive issues and even has to use a special water bowl to drink from as a result.

    Sometimes, in the midst of all the celebrity worship that goes on, it’s just nice to see the normal just-like-everyone-else side of people that are famous for one thing or another. Danica Patrick is usually good for one of these moments.

    Image via Twitter

  • Danica Patrick Talks About Her Luck After Crash

    Danica Patrick says that the “luck of the Irish” must have been with her during the NASCAR Sprint Cup practice on Sunday, when she crashed and was forced to use a backup car for the duration of the race. The accident caused her to lose valuable practice time, but things could have been much worse, she acknowledged.

    “I only had fourth gear, so that’s why I hit Clint (Bowyer) in the pits,” Patrick said. “I hit Clint in the pits. It wouldn’t go. I dipped the clutch and it got sideways, and when it caught it went straight and it wouldn’t stop.”

    The 31-year old tipped her hat to her Irish ancestors on Twitter, saying she had some luck on her side.

    Patrick has had her share of detractors, namely Richard Petty, who has not minced words when it comes to his feelings about her talent on the course. Just because she can go fast, he sayd, doesn’t mean she’s a good driver.

    “That’s where I have a problem,” he said on SPEED’s “Race Hub” last year. “Where fans have bought into the hype of the marketing, to think she’s a race car driver. She can go fast, and I’ve seen her go fast. She drives the wheels off it when she goes fast…she’s not a race car driver. There’s a difference. The King always had that stupid saying, but it’s true, ‘Lots of drivers can drive fast, but very few drivers can race.’ Danica has been the perfect example of somebody who can qualify better than what she runs. She can go fast, but she can’t race.”

    It hasn’t affected Patrick’s ability to garner fans, however; she recently became the first NASCAR driver to surpass 1 million followers on Twitter, a feat even Dale Earnhardt Jr. hasn’t accomplished.

    “It just shows what incredible and loyal fans I have,” she said. “It’s pretty humbling that 1 million people are curious about what I have to say and what I’m doing. I really can’t thank everyone enough for their passion and interest.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Danica Patrick Crashes During Practice, Finishes 18th in Bristol

    Friday’s practice at Bristol Motor Speedway was quite a bumpy start for NASCAR driver Danica Patrick.

    Only a few minutes into the practice run, the 31-year-old’s No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet crashed into Parker Kligerman’s No. 30 Swan Racing Toyota.

    Following the collision, Kligerman’s team attempted to fix his car while Patrick returned to the race track in a backup Chevrolet.

    However, she wasn’t the only driver who crashed and had to resort to a backup car.

    Justin Allgaier’s soon found himself collided with the wall.  Kyle Busch’s wreck followed the same scenario. Both were forced to use backup cars.

    Greg Biffle also went to a backup when he crashed only a half-an-hour later on the front chute.

    NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin sat out and watched the first 15 minutes of practice.

    According to ESPN, he told the Associated Press that the wrecks were probably due to “Goodyear’s tire compound producing faster speeds” mixed with highly accelerated embankments on the 0.533-mile track.

    “It’s just the speeds are so much higher than we’ve seen,” he said. “It takes a little getting used to. We are all out there fighting for a tenth of a second, a hundredth of a second at Bristol. I think it comes more from us pushing the edge than it is treacherous.

    Two other drivers, Matt Kenseth and Rick Stenhouse Jr., both scraped the wall towards the end of the session, but didn’t incur major damages.

    Five-time Bristol winner Kurt Busch ultimately had the best practice time.

    The clip below shows Patrick’s crash during the Bristol practice:

    Unfortunately, Patrick’s bad luck just didn’t stop there. 

    During Sunday’s icy and rainy race, Patrick, who started at 36th, only had 50 laps left when she decided to exit on the pit road.

    Clint Bowyer’s No. 15 Toyota was two stalls ahead of Patrick. As she departed the pit, Patrick hit the acceleration and her vehicle headed towards the right rear side of her opponent’s car.

    “I only had fourth gear, so that’s why I hit Clint in the pits,” Patrick said, according to ESPNW. “I hit Clint in the pits. It wouldn’t go. I dipped the clutch and it got sideways, and when it caught it went straight and it wouldn’t stop.”

    Fortunately, Patrick hit the breaks in enough time to not cause as much damage, something she says would have been a “shame” if they had to restart or go back to pit.

    She later said: “I have days where not a single thing goes wrong, but I finish 30th, so on a night like tonight where about everything went wrong, I’ll take it.”

    Although this past weekend was pretty rough for Patrick, she finished 18th in the Food City 500.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons