BRISTOL – It took nearly eight hours start to finish, but Danica Patrick made NASCAR history Sunday at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
With her ninth place finish in the rain-delayed Food City 500 in Support of Steve Byrnes, Patrick eclipsed former female Cup Series driver Janet Guthrie for the most top-10s in the history of
the sport’s highest level by a female competitor.
Patrick had to work hard for her second top-10 finish of the season.
Virtually all day and night.
“I didn’t think this day was ever going to end,” Patrick said. “I’m proud of everybody for keeping their heads up and staying positive and these are the things that happen when you work together as a team. Just keep at it. We had some luck on our side and I really feel like that positivity feeds into getting some luck and being at the right place at the right time. We just were. We came out of here with a top 10.”
But, her dance with “Thunder Valley” didn’t come without some controversy in the process.
After starting 26th, the former IndyCar Series driver was knocked off the lead lap early. However, with all of her might, she muscled the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet in the top-20 by Lap 200.
Still fighting for the lucky dog spot, her progress was halted when she was hit from behind by Chris Buescher on Lap 278, after her Stewart-Hass Racing team Kurt Busch was involved in a Turn 4 skirmish with Jimmie Johnson.
With Patrick being collected in the aftermath of the fifth caution of the night, NASCAR decided not to give the Roscoe, Illinois native her lap back.
Patrick pleaded with NASCAR through her team radio, but to no avail. No car would reap from Patrick’s mishap as no one received the beneficiary lap under the caution.
“I should have got the lucky dog because I missed it all and I was in control of enough to stay on the track instead of taking pit road,” Patrick told Popular Speed’s Matt Weaver. “So I come around on the apron and it was like it was still wet so the back slid around and they said I was part of the accident so I don’t get the lucky dog.
“I thought that was such total crap because (Johnson) received the lucky dog and went and passed everyone who in front of me after getting the lucky dog and I was the lucky dog.”
Despite frustrated, Patrick eventually earned that lap back on Lap 381 and when Kyle Larson began a charge hunkering in on the finish of the race, Patrick fell yet another lap down, but when the caution waved on Lap 494, she found her Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet back on the lead lap.
Through the green-white-checkered finish, Patrick was able to climb from 12th to ninth, earning her sixth career top-10 finish.
I was hoping for a top 20 after our weekend,” Patrick sounded. “We were like 30 something in practice. Lucked out in qualifying and got 26th which like I said lucked out. It was a struggle of a weekend, but by all means you take these weekends because they tell you what you have a great weekends and you are running well and something happens. Either you make a mistake, somebody else takes you out, something breaks and steals you of a great finish so you have to take these that come a little easier in some ways. I promise you it wasn’t easy out there.”
It was a good day for Patrick in the points standings too. With her career-best Bristol result, she leaped four spots to 13th ahead of next Saturday night’s short track battle at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.
Patrick’s boyfriend Ricky Stenhouse Jr. also had a good night at the 0.533-mile oval. Stenhouse finished fourth earning the best finish of the year for the seemingly improving Roush Fenway Racing.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
