Short race for Patrick

The promise that Danica Patrick had shown in two excellent practices on Saturday evaporated in the first corner of Sunday’s race.

Patrick lost control of her No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet in Turn 1 of the opening lap, slammed the wall and fell out of the race in last place (43rd), her worst finish to date in the Sprint Cup Series.

“Either I drove in too hard, or the air is just that challenging, or we were a little loose,” Patrick said after exiting the infield care center. “I don’t know. I didn’t even have my front bead blowers on yet, just trying to build heat in the front tires.

“It’s just a shame, because we were having a better weekend. (Saturday) was a pretty good day for us. We felt really confident today that we were going to be able to have a good day. My pit road crew is so good I knew that was going to be something to look forward to.

“I’m really sorry. I’m really bummed. I just was looking forward to having a good day and it’s over within a matter of feet.”