FORT WORTH, Texas — How concerned is Danica Patrick about the possibility of having to qualify on speed at Darlington?
Not enough to have considered a backup plan if the No. 10 Chevrolet she shares with David Reutimann remains outside the top 35 in owner points.
Patrick is scheduled to run 10 Cup races this season. Her first was the Daytona 500, where she fell victim to a crash on Lap 2. Her second scheduled race is the May 12 Southern 500 at Darlington.
When Patrick drives the Cup car, Stewart-Haas Racing prepares it. When Reutimann drives the No. 10 Chevy, the car is fielded by Tommy Baldwin Racing, the idea being that Reutimann will keep the car in the top 35 in owner points and thereby exempt from qualifying on speed.
On April 1 at Martinsville, however, the car fell one position outside the top 35 despite Reutimann’s controversial efforts to nurse a wounded car to the finish — controversial because the car lost power, stopped on the frontstretch and caused a caution that changed the complexion of the race.
Because the No. 10 is only one point behind the No. 83 BK Racing Toyota driven by Landon Cassill, Patrick isn’t particularly concerned about her car’s owner points position — for now.
“I feel pretty confident in the car and Tommy Baldwin to get it in the top 35,” Patrick said Thursday before practice for Friday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway. “They’re a great group, and they’re working really hard.
“We haven’t talked about a backup plan, but there’s always that backup plan that, if you have to qualify, that’s what you do.”
At Darlington, the task of keeping the car in the top 35 rests on Patrick’s shoulders, if she hopes to stay exempt from qualifying on speed for the next Cup points on the schedule — and her third planned start — the May 27 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte.
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.
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