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02.21.16
Daytona 500 - Race Report
Date: Feb. 21, 2016
Event: 58th Daytona 500 (Round 1 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (2.5-mile oval)
Start/Finish: 16th/35th (Accident, completed 184 of 200 laps)
Point Standing: 34th (6 points)
Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Danica Patrick and the No. 10 Nature’s Bakery Chevrolet SS team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) had their day cut short after late-race contact relegated Patrick to a 35th-place finish in Sunday’s 58th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
Patrick started the race from the 16th position and ran as high as 10th at the midpoint of the event. She was scored in the 16th position at lap 157 when crew chief Billy Scott called the No. 10 Nature’s Bakery team to pit road for a green-flag pit stop. NASCAR penalized the team for going over the wall too soon on the stop, so Patrick had to serve a pass-through penalty, which put her back on track without any drafting help at the 2.5-mile speedway. She did her best to stay on the lead lap, but as the race remained under green-flag conditions, Patrick went a lap down to the leaders at lap 169.
When the caution flag waved two laps later, Patrick found herself one spot out of the “lucky dog” position. The team elected not to pit, and Patrick restarted in the 31st position with 25 laps to go. Less than 10 laps later, the No. 10 Chevrolet went spinning through the infield grass after left-rear contact with the No. 16 car.
The team pitted twice for repairs before heading to the garage. Once there, the team discovered the damage was too substantial to be fixed in the remaining laps, thus ending Patrick’s day.
“That pit road penalty really put us in a bad spot at the end of the race,” Patrick said. “I didn’t realize Greg (Biffle) was below me and I tried going low and we made contact. It’s a disappointing way to end the day, but overall, I’m happy with the way my Nature’s Bakery team performed throughout Speedweeks.”
Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS, led the way for SHR on Sunday at Daytona by finishing fourth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Harvick earned his ninth top-five in 30 career, points-paying Sprint Cup starts at Daytona after starting ninth.
Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 10th after starting eighth. Busch now has 15 top-10 finishes in 30 career, points-paying Sprint Cup starts at Daytona.
Brian Vickers, driving the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for SHR in place of the injured Tony Stewart, finished 26th.
Denny Hamlin won the Daytona 500 to score his 27th career Sprint Cup victory and his first at Daytona.
Martin Truex Jr. finished .01 of a second behind Hamlin in the runner-up spot, while Kyle Busch, Harvick and Carl Edwards rounded out the top-five. Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Regan Smith, Austin Dillon and Kurt Busch comprised the remainder of the top-10.
There were six caution periods for 31 laps, with five drivers failing to finish the 200-lap race.
With round one of 36 complete, Harvick leads SHR in the championship point standings. He is fourth with 37 points, eight points behind first-place Hamlin. Busch is 10th with 31 points, 14 points out of first. Vickers is 25th with 15 points, 30 points out of first. Patrick is 34th with six points, 39 out of first.
The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Folds of Honor 500 on Sunday, Feb. 28, at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The race starts at 1 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by FOX.