Danica Patrick Finishes a Strong 2nd in Indycar’s Firestone 550k
Danica Patrick (Pino Black G12) used well-earned momentum from her Indy 500 finish a week earlier, to take her best finish of the season — 2nd place at the Texas Motor Speedway under the lights.
According to Racer.com; “In one of the most competitive performances of her career so far, Andretti Autosport driver Patrick emerged as polesitter Briscoe’s main rival in the second half of the race, but the Penske driver was able to fend her off and clinch his first win of 2010. Briscoe said his duel with Patrick for the win at the beginning of the final stint was a key part of that fun: “Danica got by us and I didn’t want to make any aggressive moves and block. I gained some momentum on the next lap, used the push-to-pass and was able to pass her out of Turn 4 and into Turn 1. She gave us a real run for our money tonight. It was fun racing side-by-side with her.
“Patrick made her final stop a lap earlier than Briscoe and momentarily swept into the lead as her rival got back up to speed, but she could not hang on for long before Briscoe inched past to reclaim first place. As they hit traffic, Briscoe started to build an advantage again, eventually winning by 1.4 seconds.
“It was a good weekend last weekend in Indy and it was a good weekend here in Texas,” mused Patrick. “Sometimes the little victories that I have throughout the season are not necessarily obvious on the track. Maybe they’re in other aspects of what I’m doing––winning little victories here and there to get everything in line to perform from top to bottom on race day. I’ve been working hard all season. It’s just really nice to have a result to show how hard I’ve been working and how hard the team has been working as well.”
Fellow Kaenon driver Ryan Hunter-Reay, (Klay Black G12) finished well at a respectable 7th, wearing a customized carbon fiber cast on his right wrist to protect his surgically repaired thumb after tearing ligaments in last Sunday’s Indy 500.
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