Patrick Finishes 19th at Chicagoland

Danica Patrick finished 19th in Sunday’s MyAFibStory.com 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, and for the first time in her Sprint Cup career she has scored three consecutive top-20 finishes.

The driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) finished sixth two week ago at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia, and finished 16th last week at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.

“We had a tight car most of the day, but we got another top-20,” Patrick said. “The GoDaddy guys did a good job, and crew chief Tony Gibson made good calls. We needed a bit more, but overall it was a decent day. We’re moving in the right direction, though, and I’m proud of everyone.”

Patrick’s day was not without incident as, while running 18th with just 10 laps to go, she made contact with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and had damage to the right front of her car. She managed to make it to the pits and still finished 19th and on the lead lap.

“I heard my spotter (Brandon Benesch) say that the 14 (Tony Stewart) was below me on track, and I didn’t know the 17 (Stenhouse) was there on the high side of the track,” Patrick said. “My spotter took the blame on that one. I just didn’t know Ricky was up there, and I obviously don’t want to hit his car or anyone else with 10 laps to go. I talked with Ricky afterward, and we’re fine. It’s just a tough deal. We finished 19th even with the damage, so it was a decent run.”

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