On Saturday, Danica Patrick was in line for her best career NASCAR Nationwide finish. She was running just outside the top 10 at Auto Club Speedway when she got turned by James Buescher in late race contact.
Patrick was obviously upset that her very promising day ended up with a 29th place finish instead of the top 15 or even the top 10 finish she could have had.
We all know Patrick has struggled in six starts prior to ACS. Those were all at tracks she had never driven a stock car on.
They were tracks that she wasn’t sure what to expect and even though most of them were mile and half tracks, they all handle differently.
She came to ACS with confidence and goal of a top 15 finish. Her first time at ACS in February, she finished 31st.
She might not have finished where she actually ran on Saturday but this was exactly what Patrick needed.
This past weekend her team really focused on putting together an entire weekend. From qualifying to the race; they worked on the entire package.
They nearly pulled it off with a car that was fast enough to run in the top 10 on Saturday.
The critics (fans and media) have said she is not serious about her career in NASCAR. She is only here for the money.
In her post race interview on Saturday, she was disappointed but for first time this season on she was having fun out there.
“Everybody looks at results, and I still have a [30th] to show for it, but this one should have been much better. I was so much more racy. I was passing good cars, cars that I thought were going to take a long time to learn how to get, and get as good as they are” Patrick said.
Coming back to a track for the second time it allows her to take what she learned the first time and improve on it the second time.
She struggles knowing what she needs to make the car turn. What adjustments she needs to make the car faster and handle better.
At ACS, Patrick was confident on the radio and was able to tell her crew what she needed.
Patrick who has said repeatedly after each race she is still trying to put together the whole race.
“The one run that I did [at Dover], the car wouldn’t turn and it was just hard to drive. We were good on the long run. I was very, very confused as to what I need in the car to be good from the beginning to the end of a run, and I think we’re getting closer. That was a big relief.”
Patrick never said this was going to be easy. She never said she would win out of the gate. She never said that she could beat the best in this sport.
Her first year in this sport was supposed to go this way. She is supposed to struggle in her transtion from open wheel to stock cars.NASCAR is not suppose to be easy and Patrick is learning that.
She comes to these tracks trying to learn as much as possible so the next time she comes back she can run better.
When she does start running regularly Patrick will be able to tell her crew what she needs and have confidence in her ability to drive these cars.
Until then Patrick will continue to do what she is doing and the improvement will come, slowly but surely.
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