Danica Patrick survives carnage for her best result of 2016 season

Patrick came from two laps down to finish a season-high 13th at Dover International Speedway in the AAA 400 Drive for Autism. 

It was her first top-15 finish since last spring’s Dover race. 

“Today’s race is a perfect example of why you should never ever give up,” Patrick said. “We were stuck two laps down for what seemed like forever. 

“Then at the end, things finally worked out so that we could get back on the lead lap.”

Of course, no driver benefitted more from the 18-car wreck on Lap 355 than Patrick. When half the field was collected in the pileup triggered by Jimmie Johnson’s faulty transmission, she received the lucky dog on the 11th caution to rejoin the lead lap competitors. 

Prior to that, Patrick hadn’t cracked the top 25. But crew chief Billy Scott elected to take the wave-around on the previous caution (Lap 354) to put the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevy in striking distance — one lap down. Through attrition — and patience — Patrick was one of 16 cars on the lead lap for the final 40-lap run.

When the race returned to green on Lap 360 and Kyle Larson tagged Carl Edwards, who was running second on the restart, Patrick advanced to 13th. 

“Billy (Scott) did a great job of making adjustments and great calls throughout the day that helped get us into contention at the end,” Patrick added. “I have to thank everyone on my team for fighting hard all day.”

For Patrick, the fight began on Friday. In the first five minutes of practice, a rear-end gear failed on the No. 10 Chevy and Patrick’s car burst into flames then spewed grease on the front stretch. The team prepared the backup car and Patrick was able to shake it down. She ended up 31st in practice — which also became her starting position for the race when qualifying was rained out. 

By Saturday, Patrick improved to 25th in single-car runs and 17 in the Best 10 Consecutive Lap Average in practice. On Sunday, following Tony Stewart’s woes with a broken track bar and Kevin Harvick’s damage in the Johnson melee, Patrick was the second-highest finishing SHR car behind Kurt Busch, who was fifth.