casper5280
Crew Member
Any NASCAR fans out there.
NASCAR Daytona 500
- Thread starter casper5280
- Start date
casper5280
Crew Member
Yes I'm hoping she doe's well. Of all the women that have tried she is the best by far and she is with a good team. Still think she has a huge learning curve to over come, but still think she will do well.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Two races, two big wrecks and the big event still to come.
That sums up the past three days for Danica Patrick. Oh, she also won a pole in between the wrecks.
It was a tiny moment of glory and one bright spot in what has been a miserable 2012 debut for Patrick at Daytona.
The smashed race cars and bad results won't matter if she goes out and runs well Sunday in her first Daytona 500. But for now, it's downright ugly.
http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/nationwide/story/_/id/7615413/nascar-danica-patrick-0-2-daytona
Patrick's Nationwide Series car was back in the garage Saturday after she wrecked on Lap 49 when bumped by rookie and JR Motorsports teammate Cole Whitt.
[+] Enlarge
Mark J. Rebilas/US PresswireOn the bright side, Danica Patrick did win the pole for Saturday's Nationwide Series race at Daytona.
"I don't think it's ever great when teammates come together,'' Patrick said after the race. "We'll have to figure out what happened and move forward."
I sense a tense team meeting coming on that issue after a day that started with so much optimism for Patrick.
"We have to get everybody together and talk about it," said Tony Eury Jr., Patrick's crew chief. "She was angry. It's unfortunate. She and Cole will talk about it. We're all a team here."
Not that it's any consolation, but Patrick wasn't alone with a wrecked race car in a Nationwide event that may have set a record for mangled sheet metal.
Fewer than 10 cars got to the end without some damage, and most left the track on a hook after James Buescher (thousands of you just said, "Who?") won the race.
Wrecking at Daytona is part of the drill, as Patrick is learning the hard way.
She started from the pole, something no woman ever had done at Daytona. And Patrick was feeling chipper after some encouragement from Eury.
"I asked Tony Jr. how he felt," Patrick said in a prerace TV interview. "He said, 'I think we've got a good shot here.' If he feels good, I feel good. I'm a little nervous, but I've just got to be smooth and be smart and stay out of trouble."
She was smooth at times, leading laps at the start with the help of team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr., who pushed her ahead of the pack. And she was smart at times, backing off when the engine ran hot and not panicking when she brushed the outside and fell back in the draft.
But the staying out of trouble thing? She still needs to work on that one. A few laps before the accident, Patrick sensed the danger.
"I can't stress enough how blind we are when we're pushing," Patrick said to Eury on Lap 43. "It's pretty chaotic out here."
Patrick was running alone on the track entering Turn 3 of Lap 49 when Whitt closed on her quickly from behind. Whitt probably wanted to pair up and push his teammate forward, but he bumped her once, fell back, and then bumped her again.
One time too many. Patrick's car spun to the left and slid down on the apron. The car turned back to the right and shot up the banking, slamming into the outside wall before sliding back down the track.
"I went down into [Turn] 3 and got a little tap, got a little sideways and saved it," Patrick said. "But I got hit again and couldn't save it."
When the team took the No. 7 Chevy back to the garage, the media pounced with a mad rush to Patrick's hauler. While waiting patiently for Patrick to emerge, I counted 52 reporters waiting for her to speak, not something you see for a Nationwide driver who crashes early.
That sums up the past three days for Danica Patrick. Oh, she also won a pole in between the wrecks.
It was a tiny moment of glory and one bright spot in what has been a miserable 2012 debut for Patrick at Daytona.
The smashed race cars and bad results won't matter if she goes out and runs well Sunday in her first Daytona 500. But for now, it's downright ugly.
http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/nationwide/story/_/id/7615413/nascar-danica-patrick-0-2-daytona
Patrick's Nationwide Series car was back in the garage Saturday after she wrecked on Lap 49 when bumped by rookie and JR Motorsports teammate Cole Whitt.
[+] Enlarge
Mark J. Rebilas/US PresswireOn the bright side, Danica Patrick did win the pole for Saturday's Nationwide Series race at Daytona.
"I don't think it's ever great when teammates come together,'' Patrick said after the race. "We'll have to figure out what happened and move forward."
I sense a tense team meeting coming on that issue after a day that started with so much optimism for Patrick.
"We have to get everybody together and talk about it," said Tony Eury Jr., Patrick's crew chief. "She was angry. It's unfortunate. She and Cole will talk about it. We're all a team here."
Not that it's any consolation, but Patrick wasn't alone with a wrecked race car in a Nationwide event that may have set a record for mangled sheet metal.
Fewer than 10 cars got to the end without some damage, and most left the track on a hook after James Buescher (thousands of you just said, "Who?") won the race.
Wrecking at Daytona is part of the drill, as Patrick is learning the hard way.
She started from the pole, something no woman ever had done at Daytona. And Patrick was feeling chipper after some encouragement from Eury.
"I asked Tony Jr. how he felt," Patrick said in a prerace TV interview. "He said, 'I think we've got a good shot here.' If he feels good, I feel good. I'm a little nervous, but I've just got to be smooth and be smart and stay out of trouble."
She was smooth at times, leading laps at the start with the help of team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr., who pushed her ahead of the pack. And she was smart at times, backing off when the engine ran hot and not panicking when she brushed the outside and fell back in the draft.
But the staying out of trouble thing? She still needs to work on that one. A few laps before the accident, Patrick sensed the danger.
"I can't stress enough how blind we are when we're pushing," Patrick said to Eury on Lap 43. "It's pretty chaotic out here."
Patrick was running alone on the track entering Turn 3 of Lap 49 when Whitt closed on her quickly from behind. Whitt probably wanted to pair up and push his teammate forward, but he bumped her once, fell back, and then bumped her again.
One time too many. Patrick's car spun to the left and slid down on the apron. The car turned back to the right and shot up the banking, slamming into the outside wall before sliding back down the track.
"I went down into [Turn] 3 and got a little tap, got a little sideways and saved it," Patrick said. "But I got hit again and couldn't save it."
When the team took the No. 7 Chevy back to the garage, the media pounced with a mad rush to Patrick's hauler. While waiting patiently for Patrick to emerge, I counted 52 reporters waiting for her to speak, not something you see for a Nationwide driver who crashes early.
Last edited by a moderator:
casper5280
Crew Member
Under rain delay now
casper5280
Crew Member
Edwards and Biffle are on the front row. Danica starts in the back as she has gone to a back-up car.
Fisher Down
Active Member
Can't believe I watched the whole thing; a couple of hours of rain-delay on Sunday, then 5 more hours on Monday...
What did you think of Juan Pablo Montoya taking out the cleanup-truck under caution? Ka- BOOOOOM. I'm glad
everybody walked away from that one (sittin in a truck, you don't expect a racecar to smoke you in the driver's door).
F D
What did you think of Juan Pablo Montoya taking out the cleanup-truck under caution? Ka- BOOOOOM. I'm glad
everybody walked away from that one (sittin in a truck, you don't expect a racecar to smoke you in the driver's door).
F D
casper5280
Crew Member
I sat though the whole thing too. One of the craziest 500s I have ever seen. Not the greatest race I have seen though. Good for Matt for winning it, the Biffle screwed up by not pulling out on the last lap. If he had pulled out Jr would have pushed him to the front and he would have won. By the way I'm a Jr fan cheered for his old man since he started Cup racing.
Never did like the driver, but it's odd that nascar doesn't have a speed limit during cautions when lapping to catch up to the pack. They will now.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...incident-must-force-nascar-to-change-policies
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...incident-must-force-nascar-to-change-policies
casper5280
Crew Member
Hows a car ever going to catch the field if he has to stay at the speed limit? The pace car is already doing the speed limit, that is why Montoya was trying to catch up to him. Besides Daytona is a 2 1/2 mile track it would take forever for him to catch up
casper5280
Crew Member
What don't you get? The car broke. It was a fluke accident. Nascar does have a speed limit that is what the pace car is for. Cars behind the pace car maintain pace car speed and the rest of the field catches up to the field. How the hell is a car coming off pit road in turn 2 going to catch the field in turn 4 if they are going the same speed. Both the safety vehicle and Montoya were doing exactly what they were supposed to be doing. As a side note as of this weekend all safety workers will be wearing fire suits and helmets and the safety trucks will be installing roll bars and 5 way harnesses. They will also be looking in to the fire fighting equipment. If nothing else Nascar is fast to react to safety concerns.
tinboatrobb
Well-Known Member
When you think your car is broke you do not keep mashing the gas to feel how things shift. montoya is an idiot, he could have killed people. Nascar needs ro investigate what he was trying to prove by diagnosing the problem by using the throttle.
casper5280
Crew Member
I guess I just don't know what you mean? What speed limit do you want? I Think Daytona's pace speed is 65mph still pretty quick to catch up to 3/4 to a mile behind the field and still be there to take the green flag. Please explain.
Similar threads
