Danika Patrick starts her 4th season with new sponsor and crew chief

Nature's Bakery Racing: Patrick Finishes 11th in Sprint Unlimited

Danica Patrick Finishes 11th in Sprint Unlimited Nature’s Bakery Driver Enjoys Solid Outing with New Crew Chief

Date: Event: Series: Location:  Start/Finish: Winner: Feb. 13, 2016 Sprint Unlimited (non-points event)  NASCAR Sprint Cup Series  Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (2.5-mile oval)  12th/11th (Running, completed 79 of 79 laps) Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing in overtime (Toyota)

Danica Patrick and the No. 10 Nature’s Bakery Chevrolet SS team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) finished 11th in Saturday night’s Sprint Unlimited non-points NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.   In the first outing with her new crew chief, Billy Scott, Patrick started the Sprint Unlimited from the 12th position. Throughout the race, Patrick alternated between the top, middle and bottom lanes to see what worked best for her Nature’s Bakery Chevrolet. She was scored as high as fifth at one point in the race and was running 15th at lap 70 when the No. 31 car appeared to lose power in front of her. Patrick made contact, which damaged the grille of her No. 10 Chevrolet.   Patrick dropped to the tail of the field and lost contact with the draft as temperatures under the hood of her racecar continued to rise. Luckily for the No. 10 Nature’s Bakery team, the caution flag waved at lap 72. Scott called Patrick to pit road multiple times for the team to make repairs, and she rejoined the field in the 13th position for the final restart.   In the closing laps Patrick was caught up in a multicar accident. The No. 10 Chevrolet sustained significant right-front damage, but Patrick was able to complete the final lap and was credited with an 11th-place finish. “That’s just speedway racing,” Patrick said. “Overall, I think it was a good night for the Nature’s Bakery team, though. It was my first race with Billy (Scott) on the pit box, and I think our communication was really good tonight. We had the issue with the No. 31 car, and as a team we were able to calmly assess the situation, make repairs and get back out there to contend at the end. Given that we’d never even tested together before, I feel really good about how tonight went.”   The Sprint Unlimited was an invitation race open to drivers who were a part of the 2015 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, had won a pole during the 2015 season, were past winners of the Sprint Unlimited or had previously won the pole for the Daytona 500. Patrick earned a spot in the race by winning the pole for the 2013 Daytona 500.   Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet SS, led the way for SHR in the race by finishing seventh. It was Busch’s fifth top-10 in 13 career Sprint Unlimited starts. Busch won the Sprint Unlimited in 2011.   Brian Vickers, interim driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for SHR as he subs for the injured Tony Stewart, finished 24th after a flat tire caused him to wreck on lap 23. NASCAR granted SHR permission to run the No. 14 Mobil 1 Chevy in the Sprint Unlimited despite Stewart being unable to compete. Stewart is a three-time winner of the event (2001, 2002 and 2007).   Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Busch Beer Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 25th after getting caught up in the same accident that claimed Vickers. Harvick is a three-time winner of the Sprint Unlimited (2009, 2010 and 2013).   Denny Hamlin won the Sprint Unlimited to earn his third victory in the exhibition race. Joey Logano finished .924 of a second behind Hamlin in the runner-up spot, while Paul Menard, Kyle Larson and Casey Mears rounded out the top-five. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Busch, Austin Dillon, Brad Keselowski and Greg Biffle comprised the remainder of the top-10.   There were six caution periods for 24 laps, with 10 drivers failing to complete the 79-lap race, which went into overtime and finished four laps beyond its scheduled distance. Source: Annette Randall with True Speed Communication