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07.06.15
Coke Zero 400 Post-Report
Date: July 5, 2015
Event: Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola (Round 17 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (2.5-mile oval)
Start/Finish: 27th/35th (Accident, completed 126 of 161 laps)
Point Standing: 20th (386 points, 270 out of first)
Winner: Dale Earnhardt Jr. of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Danica Patrick and the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) finished 35th in Sunday’s Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, her race cut short after cutting down a right-front tire and making contact with the wall in turn two at lap 126.
The incident was the third of the night for Patrick, who had been collected in two prior multicar accidents at lap four and lap 106. In both situations, the GoDaddy Chevrolet SS sustained damage when cars in front of Patrick wrecked and she had nowhere to go to avoid the subsequent melee.
After the first incident, the team pitted three times to repair the damage to the front end and right-rear quarter panel. Following the accident, Patrick ran as high as 15th and was scored in the 16th position when the No. 5 and No. 20 cars made contact in turn four at lap 106. The No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS suffered significant right-front damage in the ensuing 12-car incident. Patrick brought the car to the attention of her pit crew, making a total of five trips to pit road during the caution period for repairs.
Patrick lined up 28th for the lap-114 restart and quickly radioed to the team that the car wouldn’t turn as she lost time to the lead pack. At lap 126, she cut down a right-front tire and made contact with the turn two wall. Patrick brought the car down pit road, and after an initial assessment, crew chief Daniel Knost had her drive the car to the garage for repairs. Further inspection revealed that the damage was too significant to get back on track, and Patrick had to settle for a 35th-place finish.
“It was definitely a bummer of a night,” Patrick said. “Here at Daytona, it’s such a roll of the dice when it comes to the race. I thought we were going to get out of here tonight with a decent finish after getting into two wrecks, but it didn’t work out that way. The guys did a great job repairing the car after the first two deals, but then we cut down a tire, got into the wall, and it just destroyed the right-front (suspension). We had a great GoDaddy Chevy here tonight, but the luck didn’t fall our way.”
Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevrolet SS, led the four-car SHR contingent Sunday night by finishing fourth in the rain-delayed Coke Zero 400.
The top-five result was Harvick’s 12th this season and his eighth in 29 career Sprint Cup starts at Daytona.
Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished fifth to earn his seventh top-five of 2015 and his 12th in 29 career Sprint Cup starts at Daytona.
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Ducks Unlimited Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 14th to notch his fourth top-15 result this season.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola to score his 25th career Sprint Cup victory, his second this season and his fourth at Daytona.
Jimmie Johnson finished .122 of a second behind Earnhardt in the runner-up spot, while Denny Hamlin, Harvick and Busch rounded out the top-five. Jeff Gordon, Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman, Trevor Bayne and Clint Bowyer comprised the remainder of the top-10.
There were nine caution periods for 43 laps, with seven drivers failing to finish the 161-lap race, which was extended beyond its scheduled 160-lap distance by a green-white-checkered finish.
With round 17 of 36 complete, Harvick leads SHR in the championship point standings. He is first with 656 points, 63 ahead of second-place Earnhardt. Busch is eighth with 508 points, 148 out of first. Patrick is 20th with 386 points, 270 out of first. Stewart is 25th with 331 points, 325 out of first.
The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Kentucky 400 on Saturday, July 11 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta. The race starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC Sports Network.