Danica Patrick finishes 13th in the NASCAR Nationwide race at Charlotte. (5-26-2012)
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Patrick was third fastest in time trials but battled a tight race car throughout the 300-mile race and settled for a 13th-place finish. Her qualifying effort was second only to her pole at Daytona for this season and 15 positions better than her first trip to Charlotte in 2010.
But from Lap 5, when Travis Pastrana drew the first of his two cautions, Patrick warned the team she was "tight all the way around." Although she remained fourth on the restart, by the time Patrick pitted on Lap 50 she had dropped to 16th. However, the caution came for oil on the track three laps later and Patrick dropped to 28th ? the last car on the lead lap.
After hearing one of her teammates say on the radio, "Thats how bad he beat us by, thats how bad we suck," Patrick rallied the troops.
"Weve had one stop in this whole thing, were just a small portion of the way there," Patrick said with 143 laps remaining in the race. "Lets not get all riled up. Lets keep our heads down Ill just drive like hell."
Patrick didnt hesitate. By the next caution on Lap 61, Patrick had gained five positions. She reported the "car was turning all right, better rotation through the center." Since Patrick was at the back of the pack, the crew called for her to pit for tires and fuel. She restarted 22nd on Lap 66 after Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who was the points leader entering the event, broke a driveshaft and retired to the garage for repairs. By Lap 70, Patrick had advanced to 14th.
As she fluctuated between positions, spotter T.J. Majors told her "keep disciplining yourself and back your corner up." But Patrick kept losing lap time and told the crew she was "going to try something different."
"Every time I go high in (Turns) 3 and 4, I feel like I push up," Patrick radioed.
Crew chief Tony Eury Jr., replied, "Yeah, entry (into the corner) is everything there."
At the halfway point, Patrick was 15th and (
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Patrick was third fastest in time trials but battled a tight race car throughout the 300-mile race and settled for a 13th-place finish. Her qualifying effort was second only to her pole at Daytona for this season and 15 positions better than her first trip to Charlotte in 2010.
But from Lap 5, ... (
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