There is no replacement for experience.
Given that NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams are limited to just four two-day tests per year at tracks where the Series competes, the more practice, qualifying and race experience drivers can get, the more knowledgeable they become.
Especially the rookies.
With the second half of the Sprint Cup Series season in full swing, rookies like Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), are seeing tracks for the second time this season. And knowledge gained from the first race of 2013 can pay off in the second race.
It was evident for Patrick two weeks ago at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway when she made her second start at the 2.5-mile triangle. She was more aggressive on restarts, knew the track better and had at least a small notebook of knowledge to draw upon. While the day was cut short by an accident just past the halfway point, her second race was much better, overall, than the first.
Patrick and crew chief Tony Gibson hope the same holds true for Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 Sprint Cup race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. The GoDaddy team posted a respectable 13th-place result in the first race at Michigan and hope to build upon that for an even better finish in round two at the 2-mile D-shaped oval.
Prior to their trip to Michigan, Patrick, Gibson and the rest of the No. 10 team will participate in a two-day test at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tenn., as the quest for speed and better results continues.
TSC PR
