Danica Patrick had high hopes of a solid finish at the track which made her famous. Instead, she crashed out of Saturday’s inaugural NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and finished 35th.
NASCAR At Indianapolis: Danica Patrick Crashes At Inaugural Nationwide Brickyard Race
While Patrick was going for 15th place and racing with Reed Sorenson on lap 39, the latter driver backed up his corner entry to help the car turn.
Patrick, who was just behind him, didn’t slow down enough and made contact with Sorenson’s car. Sorenson bobbled, then lost control and turned sharply up the track. Patrick, who was trying to go high, couldn’t avoid Sorenson and plowed straight into his side door.
Her car was undriveable and crew chief Tony Eury Jr. told the JR Motorsports team to pack up the car instead of trying to repair it.
“When we do stupid stuff like that, we don’t go back out,” Eury Jr. said.
After leaving the infield care center, Patrick told ESPN she was trying to work her way through the field and said she “might have tapped” Sorenson in the middle of the corner (replays showed she did).
“I’m not sure,” she said. “He was slowing down quite a bit. I didn’t mean to take him out. I don’t know if he’s still going or not, but I’m sorry if I did anything. ... Just a bummer.”
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