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04.30.17

Richmond 400 Race Report

Date: April 30, 2017
Event: Richmond 400 (Round 9 of 36)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Richmond (Va.) International Raceway (.75-mile oval)
Format: 400 laps, broken into three stages (100 laps/100 laps/200 laps)
Start/Finish: 21st/18th (Running, completed 400 of 400 laps)
Point Standing: 29th (110 points, 288 out of first)
Race Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

 

Stage 1 Recap (Ended on lap 100):

- Danica Patrick started 21st and finished 24th.

- Patrick ran as high as 18th during the first stage of the race as the No. 10 Code 3 Associates Ford Fusion team battled a tight-handling racecar.

- Patrick pitted three times during the stage so the team could change tires, add fuel, make wedge adjustments and pull tape from the grille to improve the car’s handling.

 

Stage 2 Recap (Ended on lap 200):         

- Patrick started 25th and finished 24th.

- The tight-handling condition persisted for Patrick during Stage 2. She went a lap down to the leader at lap 189 but raced her way into the Lucky Dog position and was able to get back on the lead lap when the caution flag waved to end the stage.

- At the end of Stage 2, crew chief Billy Scott called for the No. 10 Code 3 Associates Ford team to change tires, make air pressure adjustments, pull tape from the grille and add a spring rubber to the right rear.

 

Final Stage Recap (Ended on lap 400):

- Patrick started 24th and finished 18th.

- Patrick raced her way up to 19th during the final stage of the race but fell back to 23rd as she continued to struggle with the car’s handling.

- As the field cycled through green-flag pit stops, Patrick was one of several drivers called for a commitment line violation. As a result, she had to serve a pass-through penalty, which dropped the No. 10 Code 3 Associates Ford two laps down to leader in the 29th position.

- Patrick worked her way back to one lap down, and when the caution flag waved at lap 343, Scott called for Patrick to stay out and take the wave-around, which put her back on the lead lap.

- On the final restart, Patrick took the green flag in the 18th position and ran as high as 17th before taking the checkered flag in 18th.   

 

Notes:              

-Patrick earned 19 points in Sunday’s race at Richmond, which puts her at 110 total points for the season thus far. She is ranked 29th in the driver point standings heading into next weekend’s race.

 

Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 Code 3 Associates Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“We were just off to start the race, but the guys made changes all day in an effort to make the Code 3 Associates Ford handle better. The car was just way too tight in the center of the corner. The penalty definitely didn’t help matters, but we still came home with the best finish we’ve had in a while, so we’ll take it and move on to Talladega.”

 

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Geico 500 on Sunday, May 7 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. The race starts at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX.