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07.25.17
Overton's 400 Pre-Report
As the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams return to Pocono (Pa.) Raceway this week for Sunday’s Overton’s 400, Danica Patrick and the No. 10 Code 3 Associates/One Cure Ford Fusion team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) look to build on the momentum of recent finishes and score another solid finish at the “Tricky Triangle.”
Patrick enters the weekend at Pocono on the heels of three-straight top-15 finishes. She earned a 15th-place result at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, a 13th-place finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon and took home an 11th-place effort last weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Each of those results marked Patrick’s career-best NASCAR Cup Series finish at the respective track.
Now Patrick heads to the “Tricky Triangle,” where her track record appears less than stellar with finishes of 30th or worse in five of her nine starts there, but that statistic is a bit deceiving.
In her second race at the track in August 2013, she was running a respectable 18th when she was involved in a multicar accident in the Tunnel Turn and ended up 35th. She was poised for a solid top-20 finish before the incident.
In June 2014, Patrick was running second on lap 138 of 160, but she cut a left-front tire and hit the turn-three wall to end any chance of a good finish. She was scheduled to make another pit stop before the end of the race for a splash of fuel and, even though a top-10 was probably out of the question, a top-15 was what the team was aiming for when the accident occurred. She ended up 37th in the race, two laps down, after repairs.
Then, in June 2015, Patrick ran as high as sixth and was scored 11th when the No. 10 car made contact with the outside wall on lap 136. The subsequent damage caused the sheet metal to cut down the right-rear tire. As a result, Patrick spun in turn one and the car’s right- rear corner hit the wall. After sustaining another flat tire, Patrick completed the remaining laps and finished 37th.
When NASCAR Cup Series teams visited Pocono in June 2016, Patrick was relegated to a 32nd-place finish after midrace contact sent the car into the wall on the Long Pond straightaway. At the time of the incident, Patrick had been scored 16th. The damage forced the team to go to the garage to make substantial repairs before Patrick was able to rejoin the field.
Despite all of that rough luck at Pocono, Patrick has earned two 16th-place finishes at the track. The first came in August 2015 and the second earlier this season when the NASCAR Cup Series visited the track in June.
Now, as the No. 10 Code 3 Associates/One Cure Ford team heads back to Pocono, Patrick will be ready to capitalize on the momentum the team has built the last few weeks and earn a career-best mark at the track.
DANICA PATRICK, Driver of the No. 10 Code 3 Associates/One Cure Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:
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.”
What are your overall thoughts on Pocono?
“It’s a neat place, definitely a unique track. 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.”
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.”
Overton's 400 Notes of Interest:
The Overton’s 400 will mark Danica Patrick’s 175th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start and her 10th at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. Her career-best result at the 2.5-mile triangle is 16th, a mark she’s scored twice – first in August 2015 and again in June 2017
Building Momentum: Patrick travels to Pocono Raceway this week on the heels of three-straight top-15 finishes. She earned a 15th-place result at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, a 13th-place finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, and took home an 11th-place effort last weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Each of those results marked Patrick’s career-best NASCAR Cup Series finish at the respective track.
Going Home: For Joe Zanolini, front end mechanic on the No. 10 Code 3 Associates/One Cure Ford Fusion team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), 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.
Code 3 Associates is a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to providing professional animal disaster response and resources to communities, as well as administering professional training to individuals and agencies involved in animal-related law enforcement and emergency response. Its mission is accomplished through hands-on animal rescue and care operations during disaster events in the United States and Canada, and through certified animal welfare training seminars, which include animal cruelty training for investigators. More information is available at code3associates.org.
One Cure: Cancer is cancer. The One Cure program is founded on the principle that cancer affects all creatures and that treatment breakthroughs come through collaboration between scientists and doctors who are working with both people and pets. This approach is known as comparative oncology. It is the core of One Cure and serves as the guiding concept for the Flint Animal Cancer Center at Colorado State University. The center works to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer in pets and, by working with the human medical field, translates research findings and knowledge to help people with cancer. For more information, visit onecure.com.
Dallas Dogs Available: A plush version of Dallas Stenhouse, the 3-year-old miniature Siberian Husky that belongs to Patrick and her boyfriend Ricky Stenhouse Jr., is now available for sale. Race fans can purchase their own Dallas plush dog at the SHR team store in Kannapolis, North Carolina, the SHR online store and at Shop.DanicaPatrick.com. A portion of the proceeds from all sales will benefit animal charities.
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.
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
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.