Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 Nature’s Bakery Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), finished 27th in Sunday’s Food City 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
“We really just missed it all weekend with our Nature’s Bakery Chevy,” Patrick said. “We just never hit on anything that seemed to work. We were either tight or loose. We did hit on something there at the end where the car would turn, but still not the finish we wanted.”
Handling issues plagued the No. 10 team for much of the race weekend and resulted in a 33rd-place starting spot. Patrick took a measured approach to the start of the 500-lap race, noting early that the car’s handling had trended toward the tight side.
Starting toward the rear of the field at Bristol puts a driver at risk for going a lap down early, and such was the case for Patrick as the race leaders continued to knock down laps, catching the No. 10 Chevy by lap 35. Because her car was handling on the tight side, the only lane that worked to the benefit of Patrick was the top line – the same lane preferred by the race leaders. Patrick fended off the advances of the race leaders for nearly 20 laps and finally scored a reprieve when the first caution was displayed on lap 53.
The team used the caution to make chassis and air pressure adjustments, change four tires and add fuel. Quick pit work placed Patrick in 27th-place for the restart. The tight-handling issue persisted, however, and Patrick finally succumbed to the race leaders, going a circuit behind on lap 107.
As the race progressed the team continued to massage the handling on the No. 10 Chevy. Patrick noted the car’s handling had finally become a little free, and the team used the improved state to gamble a bit by taking the wave-around to the lead lap during the fifth caution on lap 188. The risk was rewarded when the sixth caution was displayed less than 30 laps later with Patrick comfortably on the lead lap.
To pick up some track position, the team elected to stay out during the seventh caution on lap 260, placing Patrick in fourth place for the restart. The Nature’s Bakery driver held her own for several circuits around the halfmile track, but ill-handling became too much to overcome as the laps wound down to 100 to go. She slowly lost position on the leaders and found herself once again in the lap-down category on lap 403.
While the team continued to take big swings at the chassis in an attempt to improve the handling, Patrick was never able to get in position to get back on the lead lap and ultimately finished the day two laps down in 27th.
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