Danica Patrick and the No. 10 Nature’s Bakery Chevrolet SS team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) scored a 15th-place finish in Saturday’s Federated Auto Parts 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.
Patrick started the race from the 29th position and worked her way up to 27th before the first caution at lap 11. She worked her way up to 23rd on the ensuing run and found herself inside the top-20 just past the midpoint of the race.
When the caution flag waved at lap 264, a miscommunication on the team radio led to Patrick getting a penalty for a commitment-line violation. She had to restart from the tail of the field in the 28th position when the green flag waved at lap 271. Seven laps later the No. 10 Nature’s Bakery Chevrolet sustained right-rear damage after contact from the No. 13 car. Crew chief Billy Scott called Patrick to pit road to change tires and repair the damage, and she restarted 27th at lap 284.
The caution flag waved again at lap 295, and Scott made the call for Patrick to stay out to gain track position. She took the green flag running seventh at lap 295, but she fell to 22nd by lap 313 as she lost ground to those with fresher tires.
The final quarter of the race was plagued with cautions, the last of which sent the race into overtime, and Patrick was able to race her way to a 15th-place finish in the closing laps. The effort marked her career-best finish at the .75-mile oval.
“That was a crazy night,” Patrick said. “I thought for sure we were going to get wrecked there at the end, but we were able to get a decent finish out of it.”
Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS, led the four-car (SHR) contingent Saturday night by finishing fifth.
Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished eighth.
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Code 3 Associates/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 33rd after an accident on lap 363.
Denny Hamlin won the Federated Auto Parts 400 to score his 29th career Sprint Cup victory, his third of the season and his third at Richmond.
Kyle Larson finished .609 of a second behind Hamlin in the runner-up spot while Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski and Harvick rounded out the top-five. Kasey Kahne, Jamie McMurray, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano comprised the remainder of the top-10.
There was a race-record 16 caution periods for 89 laps, with eight drivers failing to finish the 407-lap race around the .75-mile oval, which went into overtime and finished seven laps beyond its scheduled distance.
Richmond marked the last race of the regular season, and the 16-driver, 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup begins.
NASCAR recalibrated the points for the 16 Chase drivers as soon as the Richmond race was over, with each driver getting 2,000 points. Drivers also received three bonus points for each of their respective wins during the 26-race regular season. For drivers starting the Chase with identical point totals, their seed was determined by the traditional tiebreaker of best finishes beyond race victories.
Positions 1-13 in the Chase field were determined by the drivers with the greatest number of wins after the first 26 races. Positions 14-16 went to the drivers who, while winless during the regular season, were the highest in points.
Harvick qualified for the Chase by virtue of his two wins at Phoenix International Raceway in March and at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in August. Each of his regular-season victories was worth three bonus points. As such, Harvick carries six bonus points into the Chase to slot fourth among the 16 drivers. Harvick finished the regular season ranked first with 876 points. This is Harvick’s seventh consecutive Chase appearance and his 10th overall. He won the Sprint Cup championship in 2014.
Busch qualified for the Chase via his win at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway in June. He’ll start the Chase 10th with three bonus points. Busch finished the regular season ranked fifth with 762 points. This is Busch’s fourth-straight Chase appearance and 10th overall. He won the championship in his Chase debut in 2004.
Stewart qualified for the Chase via his win at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway in June. He’ll start the Chase 12th with three bonus points. Stewart finished the regular season ranked 27th with 434 points. This is Stewart’s ninth Chase appearance and his first since 2012. Stewart won the Sprint Cup championship in 2005 and 2011. He won his first championship in 2002 under the former season-long format.
Ranked in order of where their bonus points seeded them, the 16 drivers competing for this year’s championship are:
Kyle Busch (2,012 points)
Brad Keselowski (2,012 points)
Denny Hamlin (2,009 points, -3)
Kevin Harvick (2,006 points, -6)
Carl Edwards (2,006 points, -6)
Martin Truex Jr. (2,006 points, -6)
Matt Kenseth (2,006 points, -6)
Jimmie Johnson (2,006 points, -6)
Joey Logano (2,003 points, -9)
Kurt Busch (2,003 points, -9)
Kyle Larson (2,003 points, -9)
Tony Stewart (2,003 points, -9)
Chris Buescher (2,003 points, -9)
Chase Elliott (2,000 points, -12)
Austin Dillon (2,000 points, -12)
Jamie McMurray (2,000 points, -12)
The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule – the first race of the Chase – is the Sept. 18 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. The race starts at 2:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN.
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