Danica Patrick finished exactly where she started Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Kansas Speedway: In 15th.
NASCAR: Danica Patrick Fights Ill-Handling Car To 15th Place At Kansas Speedway
Patrick and her JR Motorsports team had an off-week, but she was heartened by the finish despite never getting the car right.
“We finished another one,” said Patrick, who is joining the series full time next season. “If we salvage a 15th when I’m having a bad day and I don’t really like my car, we’ll be OK.”
The problem for Patrick was the two ends of Kansas Speedway required drivers to try different lines. She was able to run well in Turns 1 and 2 but wasn’t as comfortable taking the higher line needed in Turns 3 and 4.
“Maybe if I got better at running the high line, it would be better,” she said. “For me, you’re right up to that wall, and if you get loose like I did that one time, I about tagged the wall. Just figuring it out.”
Patrick reminded reporters of her lack of experience (“I’m learning, that’s for darn sure”) but said weekends like her fourth-place run at Las Vegas earlier this year were attainable.
“For me, it’s really just about starting off on the right foot with the car and making good improvements through the weekend,” she said. “The weekends you do that are the weekends you have Vegas races where you do well. The weekends where you don’t do as much of that, it’s an OK weekend but not great.”
Patrick will return to the Nationwide Series at Texas and run each of the final three events.
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