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02.28.16
Folds of Honor 500 Race-Report
Date: Feb. 28, 2016
Event: Folds of Honor 500 (Round 2 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Atlanta Motor Speedway (1.54-mile oval)
Start/Finish: 25th/20th (Running, completed 328 of 330 laps)
Point Standing: 29th (27 points)
Winner: Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports in overtime (Chevrolet)
Danica Patrick and the No. 10 Aspen Dental Chevrolet SS team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) scored a 20th-place finish in Sunday’s Folds of Honor 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Patrick started the event from the 25th position and ran just outside the top-20 for much of the race. As she battled handling issues, crew chief Billy Scott called for wedge and air pressure adjustments. The race was marred by just three caution periods, so much of the team’s work was done during green-flag pit stops. Fast work by the No. 10 Aspen Dental Chevrolet team helped Patrick gain one or more positions on each trip to pit road.
With five laps to go, Patrick was scored in the 21st position, three laps down to the leaders. The caution flag waved with two laps remaining and sent the race into overtime. Scott called for Patrick to take the wave-around as all of the leaders pitted, so she lined up 21st for the final restart of the race.
A number of cars made contact after the field went back to green, but Patrick was able to avoid the carnage and took the checkered flag in the 20th position.
“I can’t believe we made it through there at the end. I think I missed about three spins,” Patrick said. “The Aspen Dental team did a great job on pit road today. The team did a good job with the adjustments. We were hitting the adjustments we needed, and they helped make the car more consistent.”
Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet SS, led the four-car SHR contingent Sunday at Atlanta by finishing fourth. Busch started from the pole position and led three times for 62 laps en route to his sixth top-five in 25 career Sprint Cup starts at Atlanta. It was also his 117th top-five in 542 career Sprint Cup starts.
Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS for SHR, started sixth and led nine times for 131 laps en route to his 11th top-10 in 26 career Sprint Cup starts at the 1.54-mile oval. It was also his 259th top-10 in 540 career Sprint Cup starts.
Ty Dillon, interim driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet SS for SHR as he subs for the injured Tony Stewart, finished 17th.
Jimmie Johnson won the Folds of Honor 500 to score his 76th career Sprint Cup victory, his first of the season and his fifth at Atlanta.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 1.242 seconds behind Johnson in the runner-up spot, while Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards rounded out the top-five. Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. comprised the remainder of the top-10.
There were three caution periods for 13 laps during the 325-lap race, which went into overtime and was extended by five laps to 330.
With round two of 36 complete, Harvick leads SHR in the championship point standings. He is third with 74 points, four behind first-place Kyle Busch. Kurt Busch is seventh with 69 points, nine out of first. Danica Patrick is 29th with 27 points, 51 out of first. Dillon is ineligible for driver points in this series.
The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Kobalt 400 on Sunday, March 6, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race starts at 3:30 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by FOX beginning with its prerace show at 3 p.m.