Press Release

BACK
Quaker State 400 Pre-Report

07.05.17

Quaker State 400 Pre-Report

As Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams travel to Kentucky Speedway in Sparta for Saturday night’s Kentucky 400, Danica Patrick and the No. 10 Nature’s Bakery/Feeding America® Ford Fusion team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) will be looking to get just a little bit more during this visit to the 1.5-mile track.

Last year, teams were faced with quite a challenge when they showed up to the newly repaved and reconfigured track. Between July 2015 and July 2016, the track was repaved and underwent changes in turns one and two, where the banking was increased from 14 to 17 degrees. In addition, the width of the pit road exit lane was increased and, as a result, the racing surface in those turns is now nearly 20 feet narrower.

Heading into the race weekend last year, teams were forced to start over with their notebooks for Kentucky. Patrick and the No. 10 team proved to be up for the challenge and scored a 17th-place finish. The effort marked Patrick’s career-best NASCAR Cup Series finish at the 1.5-mile track.

In addition to Patrick’s Cup Series experience at the track, she’s also competed there in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the IndyCar Series. Her best Xfinity Series result at Kentucky was a 12th-place finish she earned in June 2012. In seven IndyCar races at Kentucky, she led a total of three laps and earned four top-10 finishes, and qualified on the pole in 2005.

When Patrick and the No. 10 team visit Kentucky this year, her Ford Fusion will carry the light blue of Nature’s Bakery, as well as the orange hue of Feeding America. Nature’s Bakery, a snacks and food brand that supports health-conscious living and active lifestyles, recently announced a partnership with Feeding America that will see the company donate funds to provide 1.65 million meals* for families struggling with hunger. In addition, Nature’s Bakery will supplement the donation to Feeding America with an additional 135,000 pounds of Nature’s Bakery food products donated to select foods banks in the Feeding America nationwide network. As part of the company’s commitment to help end hunger faced by 42 million Americans, Nature’s Bakery is leveraging its sponsorship of SHR to help create national awareness for the cause by featuring Feeding America logos on the No. 10 Ford Fusion this weekend at Kentucky.

After scoring her career-best finish at the track in 2016, Patrick and the No. 10 team will be looking for just a bit more as they plan to improve upon last year’s results during their return to Kentucky for Saturday night’s race.

*$1 helps provide 11 meals secured by Feeding America® on behalf of local member foods banks. Nature’s Bakery guarantees a minimum of 1,650,000 meals to Feeding America® and member foods banks from June 1, 2017 to June 1, 2018. 

DANICA PATRICK, Driver of the No. 10 Nature's Bakery/Feeding America Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing: 

What are your overall thoughts on Kentucky?

“It’s one of those tracks where I have experience but, obviously, not a lot of it in a stock car. I’ve been there a lot, but I’ve only run a handful of stock-car races there. I ran a lot of IndyCar races at Kentucky but, obviously, those aren’t really going to benefit me this weekend. In the past, the track had a lot of character to it with the bumps. However, with the repave last year and other changes, the track presents different challenges now.”

 

We’re in the part of the NASCAR schedule where you have to deal with the extreme summer heat. How much does your workout regimen help you keep from getting fatigued in the hot conditions?

“My workout regimen is mostly for me, but it definitely doesn’t hurt inside the car and, to a certain extent, it definitely helps. There’s a certain point where, if you’re unfit, you can get tired or exhausted in the car. Some of the exercising I do is needed, but do I need to work out every day or twice a day to do my job? No, but I enjoy doing it. Our job is a lot of repetition but, more than anything, it’s endurance. So, when I’m inside the car, all of the working out that I do definitely helps me.”

 

Kentucky 400 Notes of Interest: 

The Kentucky 400 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta will mark Danica Patrick’s 172nd career start in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. She’s competed in four races at the NASCAR Cup Series level at the 1.5-mile oval and her top finish at the track was a 17th-place effort she earned last July. In two Xfinity Series events at Kentucky, Patrick’s top finish was a 12th-place result in June 2012. In addition to her stock car experience, Patrick has also competed in seven IndyCar Series events at Kentucky and earned one pole award and four top-10 finishes.

Vote for Danica: Kids across America have nominated Patrick for two Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Sports Awards: “Queen of Swag” and “Need for Speed.” Fans can vote by visiting Nick.com/KCS. The show, hosted by Russell Wilson, is scheduled to air on Nickelodeon on Sunday, July 16 at 8 p.m. EDT.

Nature’s Bakery: Nature’s Bakery is a snacks and food brand that supports health-conscious living and active lifestyles with four pinnacles of achieving balance – nature, activity, nutrition and community. The company’s delicious, thoughtfully crafted ingredients are perfect for on-the-go snacks people can feel better about eating. Nature’s Bakery offers a delicious family of Stone Ground Whole Wheat Fig Bars, Gluten Free Ancient Grains Fig Bars, Double Chocolate Brownie Bars and Organic Brownie and Honey & Oat Bars.

Feeding America: Nature’s Bakery announced a partnership with Feeding America® that will see the company donate funds to provide 1.65 million meals* for families struggling with hunger. In addition, Nature’s Bakery will supplement the donation to Feeding America with an additional 135,000 pounds of Nature’s Bakery food products donated to select foods banks in the Feeding America nationwide network. As part of the company’s commitment to help end hunger faced by 42 million Americans, Nature’s Bakery is leveraging its sponsorship of Stewart-Haas Racing to help create national awareness for the cause by featuring Feeding America logos on the No. 10 Ford Fusion this weekend at Kentucky. Nature’s Bakery will also present donation checks to local food bank representatives at upcoming races.

Dallas Dogs Available: A plush version of Dallas Stenhouse, the 3-year-old miniature Siberian Husky that belongs to Patrick and her boyfriend Ricky Stenhouse Jr., is now available for sale. Race fans can purchase their own Dallas plush dog at the SHR team store in Kannapolis, North Carolina, the SHR online store and at Shop.DanicaPatrick.com. A portion of the proceeds from all sales will benefit animal charities.

For the History Books: Since Patrick began competing in NASCAR on a part-time basis in 2010, she has made plenty of history. Here is a recap of how she has altered the record books through the years:

  • Became the first woman to win a NASCAR Cup Series pole when she set the fastest time in qualifying for the 2013 Daytona 500.
  • Led laps 90 to 91 of the 2013 Daytona 500, becoming the first female to lead NASCAR’s most prestigious race. She also led laps 127 to 129.
  • Became the first woman to lead a NASCAR race under green (Daytona 2013). Janet Guthrie led five laps under yellow in 1977 at Ontario (Calif.) Motor Speedway.
  • Finished 2013 Daytona 500 in eighth place, the highest finishing position ever for a woman in the “Great American Race.”
  • Finished 10th in 2012 Xfinity Series points, the highest points finish by a woman in the history of NASCAR’s top three series (Cup, Xfinity, Truck).
  • Competed in every NASCAR Cup Series race in 2013, becoming the first female driver to complete an entire season in the series.
  • Became the first female to compete in the non-points NASCAR All-Star race (2013) and Sprint Unlimited (2014).
  • Have the most starts of any female in NASCAR Cup Series competition.
  • With six top-10 finishes, holds the record for the most top-10 finishes of any female in NASCAR Cup Series competition.

History Maker in IndyCar: Patrick became the first woman to win a major-league open-wheel race in a North American series in April 2008 by winning the IndyCar Series Japan Indy 300 at the Twin Ring Motegi oval in Japan.

Big Stage: In seven Indianapolis 500 starts, Patrick finished in the top-10 six times, including a third-place result in 2009, the best finish ever for a woman in the historic race.