After experiencing two tough weeks on the track, NASCAR driver Danica Patrick is hoping that the upcoming race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will turn her 2014 season around. Her first two weeks of racing ended with damaged racecars. The first wreck in Daytona was not so surprising, because collisions are not uncommon for NASCAR drivers, but when she was involved in a wreck that stunted her performance for a second consecutive week while racing in Phoenix, Patrick became understandably frustrated.
In her first race of the season, Patrick finished 40th. At her second race, she placed 38th. Still, Patrick is optimistic going into her third race of the season in Las Vegas. In 2011, Patrick attained a fourth-place finish in the Nationwide Series race in the same location. That fourth-place finish was the highest finish for a female in any NASCAR national series race.
Patrick is hoping Las Vegas will be a good luck charm for her, and with good reason. Patrick is 41st in owner standings and, starting next week at Bristol, 2014 owner points will determine which drivers make provisional. The top 36 cars in the first qualifying session each get the chance to race, followed by seven other spots which will be filled by drivers in the 2014 owner standings. To put things into perspective for Patrick, the first driver to go home last year was ranked 42nd in the 2013 owner standings.
Last year in 2013, Patrick started in the top 20 twice and in the top 30 sixteen times. At Phoenix, she started at 33rd. Patrick and her crew chief, Tony Gibson, are looking ahead and excited about the car that will be racing in Las Vegas. Between Patrick’s enthusiasm and the power and speed packed into her new car, the two are confident that Patrick can turn things around in Las Vegas.
For more information about Danica Patrick’s 2014 season and the upcoming race in Las Vegas please visit http://www.sportingnews.com/nascar/story/2014-03-06/danica-patrick-las-vegas-race-phoenix-crash-daytona-sprint-cup-standings.
I came across an article on