Danica Patrick was unable to go the full distance in her final NASCAR race as a crash knocked her out of the Daytona 500 just past the halfway point Sunday at Daytona International Speedway.
Danica Patrick crashes out of her final Daytona 500
Danica Patrick wrecked on lap 102 of her final NASCAR race
Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images
Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, and Kevin Harvick were running second through fourth when contact between Elliott and Keselowski sent Elliott spinning. All three drivers were collected, as were Patrick, Kasey Kahne, David Ragan, and 2017 Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr., who was the only involved driver able to continue.
Patrick was competing in her final NASCAR race, having announced last November she would only compete in the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500 in May this year, then retire.
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Patrick entered the NASCAR season-opener reunited with her former crew chief (Tony Eury Jr.) and longtime sponsor (GoDaddy) and she hoped the reunion would lead to a storybook result. At the time of the race-ending accident Patrick was running in the top 20 and positioned for a solid finish in the crash-marred race that’s featured two sizable multi-car crashes.
“I guess it was just not meant to be,” Patrick said. “We raced it, it was competitive, that’s all you can do. That’s the gamble about Daytona. It can go so well and it can go so awful. I still have one more (race). It’s not a stock car, but I still have one more (the Indianapolis 500).”
Keselowski and Elliott were each seeking their first Daytona 500 win and were among the pre-race favorites. Keselowski won the preliminary The Clash last weekend, while Elliott won his Duel qualifying race on Thursday night.
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