Preview
NASCAR Cup Kentucky
Danica at 100
The Stewart-Haas Racing driver will make her 100th career start on Saturday.
Lee Spencer
Published: Jul 11, 2015, 6:10 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
On Saturday at Kentucky Speedway, Danica Patrick will make her 100th Sprint Cup start.
It seems hard to believe it has been more than five years since her transition began from IndyCar to stock car racing with her first start in an ARCA race at Daytona where she finished sixth.
Following two seasons of balancing a partial NASCAR XFINITY schedule while driving for Andretti Autosport, Patrick ran her first full year on the NXS tour for JR Motorsports. She won her first career pole and earned four top 10 results before finishing 10th in the 2012 NXS standings while also incorporating 10 Sprint Cup races into her program. Patrick also won Most Popular Driver that season.
Despite competing in three races over the next two season, her full focus turned to the Cup Series. While Patrick’s learning curve was steep, she came out strong in the 2013 Daytona 500 with the pole and an eighth-place finish. It was the first time a woman had won any pole — let alone for the Great American Race. She earned a top 10 for the event but it would be her only one of the season.
Over the last two years, Patrick has shown steady improvement. As a rookie, she posted an average finish of 26.1. Last year, the driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevy improved that number to 23.7 and this season Patrick’s average result is 21.4. In her first full season under the direction of Daniel Knost, Patrick is currently 20th in the Cup standings with top 10 finishes at Martinsville Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway — two of the toughest tracks on the NASCAR circuit. Her career totals include six top 10s.
For her 100th start, Patrick, 33, will roll off 23rd at Kentucky Speedway — a track where she has completed every lap and averaged a 22nd-place finish. She finish 14th in the 2012 NXS event.
“It’s one of those tracks where I have experience but, obviously, not a lot of it in a stock car," said Patrick, who ran seven IndyCar races on the 1.5-mile track prior to joining NASCAR. "I’ve been there a lot, but I’ve only run four stock-car races there. I ran a lot of IndyCar races at Kentucky but, obviously, those aren’t really going to benefit me this weekend.
"The track definitely has character to it with the bumps, and we mainly practice during the day and then race at night on Saturday, so the track conditions can change a lot during the race. When you add all that up, it’s a challenging place.”
On the personal side, we’ve watched Patrick grow as she’s divorced, fallen in love, expanded her brand and attracted a fresh fanbase to the sport over the last five years.
Currently, all signs point to an extension with Stewart-Haas Racing as the organization works to solidify sponsorship for Patrick and the No. 10 Chevy.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Keselowski is keen on new Kentucky package
Next article Kyle Busch closes in on the Chase
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Lee Spencer
Harvick reflects on career after Atlanta win, honors Dale Earnhardt
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Atlanta
Feb 26, 2018
Harvick reflects on career after Atlanta win, honors Dale Earnhardt
Chase Elliott: "We have a lot of work to do" after Atlanta showing
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Atlanta
Feb 26, 2018
Chase Elliott: "We have a lot of work to do" after Atlanta showing
Harvick leads veteran charge at Atlanta Motor Speedway
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Atlanta
Feb 26, 2018
Harvick leads veteran charge at Atlanta Motor Speedway
More from
Danica Patrick
Danica Patrick breaks silence on Sky Sports F1 exit after five years
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
8 mo
Danica Patrick breaks silence on Sky Sports F1 exit after five years
For the Cup: Legge and other extraordinary women who’ve raced NASCAR
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Phoenix
Mar 8, 2025
For the Cup: Legge and other extraordinary women who’ve raced NASCAR
Is the F1 superlicence a help or a hindrance for women racing drivers?
IndyCar
IndyCar Jun 25, 2024
Is the F1 superlicence a help or a hindrance for women racing drivers?
More from
Stewart-Haas Racing
The most unexpected driver and team breakups in modern NASCAR Cup history
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup 1 mo
The most unexpected driver and team breakups in modern NASCAR Cup history
Sheldon Creed debuts a partnership on the cutting edge of brain optimization
NASCAR O'Reilly
NASCAR O'Reilly
Pocono
5 mo
Sheldon Creed debuts a partnership on the cutting edge of brain optimization
Sheldon Creed 'paid the tax' and breaks through in NASCAR O'Reilly
NASCAR O'Reilly
NASCAR O'Reilly
Atlanta
8 mo
Sheldon Creed 'paid the tax' and breaks through in NASCAR O'Reilly
Latest news
Sebastien Bourdais hopes latest WEC success will remind teams of his value
WEC
WEC WEC
Monza
28 min
Sebastien Bourdais hopes latest WEC success will remind teams of his value
"It's horribly painful" - Williams drops 2026 car upgrades to benefit 2027
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
1 h
"It's horribly painful" - Williams drops 2026 car upgrades to benefit 2027
Iker Lecuona felt significant differences between Ducati's GP25 and GP26
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
2 h
Iker Lecuona felt significant differences between Ducati's GP25 and GP26
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe