Danica Patrick Pocono II

It is difficult to believe, but just two months ago the first Pocono (Pa.) Raceway NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race took place. And this week it’s time for part two with the GoBowling.com 400 Sunday at the 2.5-mile triangle.

Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), hasn’t had the best results at Pocono with a best finish of 29th in her first race in June 2013. She finished 35th and 37th in her last two races there, but one needs to dig a little deeper to see she could be poised for a great finish with a little luck.

Last July, she was running a respectable 18th when she was involved in a multicar crash in the tunnel turn and ended up 35th. She was poised for a solid top-20 finish before the crash occurred.

Two months ago, she was running second on lap 138 of 160, but she cut a left-front tire and hit the turn-three wall to end any chance of a good finish. She was scheduled to make another pit stop before the end of the race for a splash of fuel and, even though a top-10 was probably out of the question, a top-15 was what the team was aiming for when the accident occurred.

She finished 37th in the race, two laps down, after repairs had to be made.

Patrick and crew chief Tony Gibson are hoping this week will be the one when a good finish finally comes to fruition, and they’ll be bringing a familiar car. Chassis No. 10-849 worked rather well last week at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, so the GoDaddy team is getting it ready for a rare second race in a row.

At Indianapolis, Patrick qualified 14th and was in the top-15 all day before the rear locker broke after a lap-68 pit stop, causing her to finish 42nd. While the finish was disappointing, Gibson and his crew got the car back Monday morning and immediately began preparing for a similar 2.5-mile track in Pocono.

They are hoping their hard work will finally lead to a solid finish come Sunday.

TSC PR