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05.15.16
AAA 400 Drive for Autism Race Report
Date: May 15, 2016
Event: AAA 400 Drive for Autism (Round 12 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Dover (Del.) International Speedway (1-mile, concrete oval)
Start/Finish: 31st/13th (Running, completed 400 of 400 laps)
Point Standing: 23rd (216 points)
Winner: Matt Kenseth of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 Nature’s Bakery/Autism Delaware Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), came back from running two laps down to score a 13th-place finish in Sunday’s AAA 400 Drive for Autism NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.
Patrick started the race from the 31st position and found herself two laps down to the leader by lap 90. Crew chief Billy Scott called for wedge adjustments on the first couple trips to pit road. While the car’s handling noticeably improved, Patrick wasn’t able to gain much ground and remained stuck two laps down.
With less than 60 laps to go, the caution flag waved and all of the leaders pitted, allowing Patrick to take the wave-around. That put her just one lap down when the field took the green flag at lap 354, and within seconds of the restart the caution flag was displayed once again for a multi-car incident on the frontstretch. Patrick was the recipient of the Lucky Dog award, which put her back on the lead lap in the 15th position for the lap-359 restart.
In the closing laps Patrick was able to pick up two additional positions to score a 13th-place result. The effort marked her top finish of the season and her career-best result at Dover.
“Today’s race is a perfect example of why you should never ever give up,” Patrick said. “We were stuck two laps down for what seemed like forever. Then at the end things finally worked out so that we could get back on the lead lap. Billy (Scott) did a great job of making adjustments and great calls throughout the day that helped get us into contention at the end. I have to thank everyone on my Nature’s Bakery/Autism Delaware Chevy team for fighting hard all day.”
Kurt Busch in the No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Chevrolet SS led the four-car SHR contingent Sunday at Dover by finishing fifth.
Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS for SHR, started first and finished 15th.
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Code 3 Associates/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 34th in just his fourth race back from injury. Suspension issues sent Stewart to the Sprint Cup garage at lap 342 and eliminated the team from contention.
Matt Kenseth won the AAA 400 Drive for Autism to score his 37th career Sprint Cup victory, his first of the season and his third at Dover.
Kyle Larson finished .187 of a second behind Kenseth in the runner-up spot, with Chase Elliott, Kasey Kahne and Busch rounding out the top-five. Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr. and Trevor Bayne comprised the remainder of the top-10.
There were 12 caution periods for 65 laps, with 11 drivers failing to finish the 400-lap race around the 1-mile, concrete oval.
With round 12 of 36 complete, Harvick leads SHR in the championship point standings with 418, 21 ahead of second-place Kyle Busch. Kurt Busch is 3rd with 386 points, 32 points out of first. Patrick is 23rd with 216 points, 202 out of first. Stewart is 37th with 94 points and currently sits 67 points behind 30th-place David Ragan. Stewart is hoping to win a race over the course of the next 16 races and make it within the top-30 in the standings in order to earn a berth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff in his final season.
The next event for Patrick and the No. 10 Nature’s Bakery team is the Sprint Showdown Friday, May 20, at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Coverage of the non-points-paying event begins at 7 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX Sports 1.