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Pocono 400 Race Report

06.11.17

Pocono 400 Race Report

Date: June 11, 2017
Event: Axalta presents the Pocono 400 (Round 14 of 36)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (2.5-mile triangle)
Format: 160 laps, broken into three segments (50 laps/50 laps/60 laps)
Start/Finish: 24th/16th (Running, completed 160 of 160 laps)
Point Standings: 30th (175 points, 409 out of first)

Race Winner: Ryan Blaney of Wood Brothers Racing (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing (Chevrolet)

 

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-50):

- Danica Patrick started 24th and finished 20th.

- The No. 10 Aspen Dental Ford Fusion team gained ground at the drop of the green flag, and Patrick cracked the top-20 at lap 15.

- Crew chief Billy Scott called Patrick to pit road at lap 24 for a scheduled, green-flag stop. The team changed tires and added fuel.

- Patrick was scored as high as second during the cycle of green-flag pit stops and closed out the stage in the 20th position.

- At the end of Stage 1, the team pitted for tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment.

 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 51-100):

- Started 20th and finished 16th.

- Patrick noted a vibration midway through the stage. The team pitted for tires and fuel at lap 87.

- She was scored in the 20th position after the caution flag waved at lap 95. The red flag was displayed so that safety workers could clean up the track, stopping action for 23 minutes and 25 seconds.

- The field went back to green-flag racing at lap 99, and Patrick ended Stage 2 scored 16th.

 

Final Stage Recap (Laps 101-160):

- Started fifth and finished 16th.

- Scott had Patrick stay out between stages as a part of the team’s race strategy, which put the No. 10 Aspen Dental Ford fifth when the field took the green flag at lap 105.

- Patrick only lost a handful of positions to teams with newer tires before Scott called her to pit road for tires and fuel at lap 125.

- She was scored in the 15th position when the caution flag waved at lap 141 and the team elected to pit for tires and fuel. Patrick took the green flag in the 16th spot at lap 147.

- After losing a couple of spots on the initial start, Patrick was able to make up ground in the final laps to finish 16th.

 

Notes:              

- Patrick’s 16th-place result in Sunday’s race tied her career-best finish at Pocono. She previously earned the mark in August 2015.

- Patrick scored her fourth top-20 finish of 2017.

- Patrick earned 21 points in Sunday’s race at Pocono Raceway, which puts her at 175 total points for the season thus far. She is ranked 30th in the driver point standings.

- There were four caution periods for a total of 18 laps.

- A total of 24 drivers in the 39-car field finished on the lead lap.

- Ryan Blaney won the Axalta presents the Pocono 400 to score his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory.

 

Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 Aspen Dental Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“All in all, it was a clean day for the Aspen Dental Ford team. We didn’t make any mistakes at all and ended up with a solid finish. I wish we’d had more grip there at the end, but overall it was a good day for our team.”

 

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Sunday, June 18 at Michigan International Raceway in Brooklyn. The event starts at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1.