Danica Patrick suffers hard crash

AVONDALE, AZ - MARCH 03: Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, and David Ragan, driver of the #34 Ford, sit idle on the track after an incident during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on March 3, 2013 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
AVONDALE, AZ - MARCH 03:  Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, and David Ragan, driver of the #34 Ford, sit idle on the track after an incident during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on March 3, 2013 in Avondale, Arizona.  (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
AVONDALE, AZ – MARCH 03: Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, and David Ragan, driver of the #34 Ford, sit idle on the track after an incident during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on March 3, 2013 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

A week removed from a great race and respectable finish at Daytona, Danica Patrick found nothing but disaster at Phoenix International Raceway Sunday.

The first woman to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup pole, that coming at Daytona, Patrick started 40th Sunday. She was slowly moving up through the field and looked on target for a top 15 finish. But on lap 185 her day ended when the right front tire on her Chevy blew as she exited turn 4. Patrick shot into the outside wall careening off and towards the inside of the track. The Ford of David Regan was unable to avoid her Chevy and flew over the driver’s side peeling the side of the car open. Patrick’s Chevy came to rest on the inside frontstretch wall.

“No real warning,” Patrick said. “I wasn’t that tight either; I was sliding a little bit. I felt like most of the day I was chasing the rear. It was a little unexpected. I took a hard hit to the right, and then on the left. I’m fine. The cars and the tracks are so safe. As a driver that’s a nice feeling. It doesn’t change the fact that we aren’t going to get any points really coming out of today, and it would have been nice.”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.