Danica Patrick happy with 12th place finish at Martinsville

RIDGEWAY, VA - APRIL 07: Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, looks on during pre-race ceremonies for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series STP Gas Booster 500 on April 7, 2013 at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. (Photo by Jamey Price/Getty Images)
RIDGEWAY, VA - APRIL 07:  Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, looks on during pre-race ceremonies for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series STP Gas Booster 500 on April 7, 2013 at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia.  (Photo by Jamey Price/Getty Images)
RIDGEWAY, VA – APRIL 07: Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, looks on during pre-race ceremonies for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series STP Gas Booster 500 on April 7, 2013 at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. (Photo by Jamey Price/Getty Images)

Rookie NASCAR Sprint Cup series driver Danica Patrick went to school at Martinsville Speedway Sunday. And by all accounts she graduated with an A.

Forced to start in the rear of the field after her Stewart-Haas Racing crew was forced to change in the engine in her Chevy, Patrick’s day looked to be going sour early. On lap 15 Patrick spun out but managed to avoid contact with the wall. She would lose a lap and then another when leader and eventual winner Jimmie Johnson passed her on lap 148.

“I think you take what the car gives you and Tony Gibson (crew chief) has a really good track record here, he is a great crew chief, and my car was good all day.,” Patrick said. “We kind of balanced her out after being a little loose to a little tight but we got the GoDaddy.com car back up there.  We obviously went down real early with that spin.” MORE>>>

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.