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Pocono 400 Pre-Report

06.06.17

Pocono 400 Pre-Report

While the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams are at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway this weekend for Sunday’s Axalta presents the Pocono 400, Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 Aspen Dental Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), will be one of several drivers looking to make history.

On Saturday, Patrick will be joined by seven of her NASCAR Cup Series peers for the FOX broadcast of the NASCAR Xfinity Series race. In what is believed to be an unprecedented move in national sports broadcasting, Saturday’s Xfinity race will be called entirely by active NASCAR Cup Series drivers, including Patrick’s SHR teammates Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer. The race broadcast is thought to be the first time a nationally televised live sporting event has featured an on-air team comprised strictly of athletes actively competing in that sport.

Patrick is also believed to have been the first woman to serve as an analyst during a NASCAR television race when she joined the FOX Sports team in the broadcast booth for the Xfinity Series race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn in June 2015. She also served in that capacity for last year’s Xfinity Series race at Pocono.

This weekend, she will join fellow NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin to co-host FOX race coverage from the Hollywood Hotel mobile studio. The race coverage will air live on FOX at 1 p.m. EDT on Saturday.

The next day, Patrick will get behind the wheel of the No. 10 Aspen Dental Ford for the Pocono 400. The race will mark her ninth start at the 2.5-mile track nicknamed the “Tricky Triangle” due to its unique triangular layout that was designed by two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Rodger Ward. Patrick’s best finish at Pocono is a 16th-place effort earned in August 2015.

Fresh off of a top-10 result at Dover (Del.) International Speedway, Patrick and the No. 10 Aspen Dental Ford team will be ready to score another top-10 finish at Pocono on Sunday after she helps make history Saturday in the FOX broadcast booth.

DANICA PATRICK, Driver of the No. 10 Aspen Dental Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing: 

What are your overall thoughts on Pocono?

“It’s a neat place, definitely a unique track. It’s still a place where I don’t have a ton of experience. It’s just an odd place to set the car up because the corners are so different. If you are really good in turn one, then maybe two and three are a little off. Or if you’re good in three, maybe one and two are different. I will say that the straightaway is enormous. There’s a lot of distance between turns three and one.”

 

Which of the three turns at Pocono is your favorite? Which is most challenging?

“My favorite corner at Pocono is honestly – it’s probably – turn one. You can make up a lot of ground if you’re good through there. It comes into a pretty good compression and you can drive off, down into the corner. If the car turns pretty well, you can pick up the throttle really hard. And while I like turn one, the most important corner is probably turn three, leading onto the front straightaway.”

 

Talk about the tunnel turn at Pocono and what makes it so tough.

“Well, the tunnel turn at Pocono is pretty flat. I think that’s really one of the big things that makes it so challenging. You need to carry a lot of speed and there’s not a lot of lifting that goes on. It’s flat, so I feel like that makes it harder and it really emphasizes issues with the car. And then, when there’s not banking to push the car into the track, then it’s really up to the driver to make sure you set the car right with the throttle, brake, and how you turn into the corner. All of those things make the tunnel turn tricky.”

 

Talk about taking part in the all-driver broadcast of Saturday’s Xfinity race broadcast on FOX.

“I think it is a great opportunity and a great idea. I think it will draw a lot of attention and perhaps revolutionize TV a little bit with sports in terms of who’s included and how they are. I think there’s nothing better than putting people in position who are the most current and aware of what’s going on. And then, on top of that, personalities who are prepared to give their honest opinion, as well. I think it’s going to be really cool. I’m up for the challenge.”

 

Are you looking forward to the Pocono Xfinity race broadcast on Saturday?

“I think the all-driver Pocono Xfinity broadcast is going to be cool and funny. I think it’s actually OK if there are a bunch of goof-ups. I think that’s probably what’s going to make it interesting. Basically, as long as I don’t say, ‘Boom goes the dynamite,’ at any point in time, it will be OK.”

 

Do you have a prediction of who will be best and who will be worst on the broadcast?

“I have no idea. Kevin (Harvick) definitely has the most experience, and then pit road has a lot of youth but a lot of knowledge of just the cars in general.”

Axalta presents the Pocono 400 Notes of Interest: 

The Axalta presents the Pocono 400 will mark Danica Patrick’s 168th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start and her ninth at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. She finished a career-best 16th there in August 2015.


Making TV History: Saturday, Patrick and seven of her fellow NASCAR Cup Series competitors will call the FOX broadcast of the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Pocono. In what is believed to be an unprecedented move in national sports broadcasting, Saturday’s Xfinity race will be called entirely by active NASCAR Cup Series drivers. The race broadcast is thought to be the first time a nationally televised live sporting event has featured an on-air team comprised strictly of athletes actively competing in that sport. Patrick will join fellow NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin to co-host FOX race coverage from the Hollywood Hotel mobile studio. The race coverage is scheduled to air live Saturday on FOX at 1 p.m. EDT.
Going Home: For Joe Zanolini, front end mechanic on the No. 10 Aspen Dental Ford Fusion team for Stewart-Haas Racing, the race weekend at Pocono will be a return to his home state of Pennsylvania. Zanolini hails from the town of Sybertsville, located just over 30 miles southwest of the track.

Get Started with Aspen Dental: As the Official Dentist of NASCAR, the dentists and teams at Aspen Dental practices are making it easier for NASCAR to “Get Started”on their way to a healthier mouth. In March, Aspen Dental, one of the largest and fastest-growing networks of independent dental care providers in the United States, announced a new health initiative with NASCAR and Patrick called Get Started. Together, they hope to get as many of the 150 million Americans who do not visit the dentist each year to get started or restarted on the road to a healthier mouth. Get Started makes it easier for fans to go to the dentist, no matter what’s holding them back. Fans can visit AspenDental.com/GetStarted to schedule appointments. Get Started is all about making it easier for NASCAR fans and the rest of the public to improve their oral health. There are 600 Aspen Dental practices around the country to choose from. And, from the moment fans make an appointment, they receive help with paperwork and insurance, and with its compassionate dentists and hygienists, Aspen Dental practices make it easier to Get Started – easier on patients’ time, wallets, and mouths.

Aspen Dental: With more than 600 offices in 36 states, Aspen Dental-branded practices offer patients a safe, welcoming and judgment-free environment to get the full range of dental care they need along with the convenience and speed of onsite denture labs. That’s why the Aspen Dental network of independent dental care providers is one of the largest and fastest growing in the U.S. and saw more than 1.5 million patients in 2016. To find out more about how Aspen Dental practices make it simply easier for each of their patients to get the healthy mouth they deserve, visit AspenDental.com.

For the History Books: Since Patrick began competing in NASCAR on a part-time basis in 2010, she has made plenty of history. Here is a recap of how she has altered the record books through the years:

  • Became the first woman to win a NASCAR Cup Series pole when she set the fastest time in qualifying for the 2013 Daytona 500.
  • Led laps 90 to 91 of the 2013 Daytona 500, becoming the first female to lead NASCAR’s most prestigious race. She also led laps 127 to 129.
  • Became the first woman to lead a NASCAR race under green (Daytona 2013). Janet Guthrie led five laps under yellow in 1977 at Ontario (Calif.) Motor Speedway.
  • Finished 2013 Daytona 500 in eighth place, the highest finishing position ever for a woman in the “Great American Race.”
  • Finished 10th in 2012 Xfinity Series points, the highest points finish by a woman in the history of NASCAR’s top three series (Cup, Xfinity, Truck).
  • Competed in every NASCAR Cup Series race in 2013, becoming the first female driver to complete an entire season in the series.
  • Became the first female to compete in the non-points NASCAR All-Star race (2013) and Sprint Unlimited (2014).
  • Have the most starts of any female in NASCAR Cup Series competition. 
  • With six top-10 finishes, holds the record for the most top-10 finishes of any female in NASCAR Cup Series competition.

History Maker in IndyCar: Patrick became the first woman to win a major-league open-wheel race in a North American series in April 2008 by winning the IndyCar Series Japan Indy 300 at the Twin Ring Motegi oval in Japan.


Big Stage: In seven Indianapolis 500 starts, Patrick finished in the top-10 six times, including a third-place result in 2009, the best finish ever for a woman in the historic race.