DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Danica Patrick's up-and-down Speedweeks adventure continued as she crashed during Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide Series opener atDaytona International Speedway.
Patrick, who started the Drive4COPD 300 from the pole position, was running in the middle of the pack when her No. 7 Chevrolet spun entering Turn 3 on lap 50 (of a scheduled 120). Replays showed JR Motorsportsteammate Cole Whitt's car bump-drafting the back of Patrick's car before the spin.
Patrick railed at Whitt over the radio after the crash, which sent Patrick to the garage for extensive repairs to the car.
"The (expletive) 88 hit me while we were in a big pack! What the (expletive)?" Patrick screamed.
Crew chief Tony Eury Jr. answered: "Yeah, he wrecked the (expletive) out of you."
Patrick answered: "What the (expletive) is he thinking?"
Using tools and a power saw to cut away sheet metal, green-clad JRM crewmembers scrambled between the hauler and the mangled Impala parked in a garage stall 30 feet away.
A crowd of about two dozen reporters and TV camera waited for about 20 minutes before a NASCAR PR representative told the crowd that Patrick's team was trying to fix her car, and she wouldn't do interviews until after the race.
Her crew completed repairs just before 3:20 p.m. ET and, after fueling with some E15 blend, Patrick finally headed back on the track with about 20 laps to go. She was shown 48 laps down and in 39th place.
On Friday, Patrick became the first woman to win a pole position for a race at Daytona. That came less than 24 hours after she withstood a violent impact with a SAFER barrier on the last lap of her qualifying race for Sunday's Daytona 500.
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