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Race report

Mid-race accident causes Patrick to finish 33rd

"Someone spun in front of me and all of a sudden my car got hit from behind"

Danica Patrick, Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet

Danica Patrick, Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet

Action Sports Photography

Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), finished 33rd after being involved in an accident on lap 146 of the AdvoCare 500k NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway.

Danica Patrick, Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet
Danica Patrick, Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet

Photo by: Action Sports Photography

Patrick, who started 32nd, battled a loose-handling racecar early in the event and then was caught in an accident not of her making at the midway point of the race.

“It was a tough day all around,” said Patrick, who made her 45th Sprint Cup start and her third at Phoenix. “We started out pretty loose and got down a lap early. Then obviously we got caught up in the accident. Someone spun in front of me, and there was so much smoke I started to check up, and all of a sudden my car got hit from behind. It tore the back of the car up pretty good. It’s disappointing, but the GoDaddy guys did a good job of fixing it as best they could so we could finish. It’s tough to have a day like this, especially with a lot of people from GoDaddy here watching. Obviously, we wanted to put a better performance on for them. We’ll go to Homestead and see if we can have a good run to end the season.”

Patrick, who is competing for Rookie of the Year honors against Ricky Stenhouse Jr., finished 21 spots behind Stenhouse, who placed 12th. Patrick fell two spots to 27th in the point standings and has 622 points.

Patrick’s teammate, Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet SS, finished 10th. The third member of SHR, Mark Martin, interim driver of SHR’s No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS as he subs for the injured Tony Stewart, finished 15th.

Kevin Harvick won the AdvoCare 500k to score his 23rd career Sprint Cup victory, his fourth of the season and his fourth at Phoenix.

Kasey Kahne finished 1.796 seconds behind Harvick in the runner-up spot, while Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kurt Busch rounded out the top-five. Juan Pablo Montoya, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano and Newman comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were eight caution periods for 49 laps, with eight drivers failing to finish the 312-lap race.

Newman is representing SHR in this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup and entered the ninth race of the 10-race Chase 12th among the 13 Chase drivers, 118 points behind Chase leader Johnson. Newman leaves Phoenix in 11th, 125 points behind Johnson, who is 28 points ahead of second-place Kenseth.

Just one race remains before a champion is crowned following the Ford EcoBoost 400 Nov. 17 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Heading into the season finale, the top-13 Chase drivers rank as follows, with only Johnson, Kenseth and Harvick eligible for the title.

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