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Danica Patrick to make 100th Sprint Cup start
by Jeff Gluck, USA TODAY Sports
Clint Bowyer, driver of the #15 AAA Insurance Toyota, talks to Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 GoDaddy Chevrolet, in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway on May 30, 2015, in Dover, Del.
SPARTA, Ky. — It seems hard to believe, but Danica Patrick will make her 100th Sprint Cup Series start Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway.
Already? Yep, it's true. Patrick has 99 starts in Sprint Cup, plus another 61 Xfinity Series starts.
We'll give Patrick a grade below, but first let's look at her track record as she reaches triple digit starts Saturday night in Cup:
-- Starts: 99
-- Wins: 0
-- Top-fives: 0
-- Top-10s: 6
-- Pole positions: 1
-- Average finish: 24.6
-- Laps led: 22
-- Lead lap finishes: 41
-- Best finish: Sixth, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Aug. 31, 2014
Grade: C-. There's no question Patrick has improved. Her average finish so far this year is 21.4, a step up from 23.7 last year and 26.1 in her rookie season. Still, she's driving the best cars in the series at Stewart-Haas Racing — just look at teammates Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch — and should be performing better. She doesn't have the experience many other drivers do, but the longer her career goes on, the less weight that excuse holds. To prove she belongs in a top ride, Patrick needs to start running in the top five on her good days and and securing more lead-lap finishes on the bad ones.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mot...h-sprint-cup-start/ar-AAcOT7X#image=AA3sqc7|1
by Jeff Gluck, USA TODAY Sports
Clint Bowyer, driver of the #15 AAA Insurance Toyota, talks to Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 GoDaddy Chevrolet, in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway on May 30, 2015, in Dover, Del.
SPARTA, Ky. — It seems hard to believe, but Danica Patrick will make her 100th Sprint Cup Series start Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway.
Already? Yep, it's true. Patrick has 99 starts in Sprint Cup, plus another 61 Xfinity Series starts.
We'll give Patrick a grade below, but first let's look at her track record as she reaches triple digit starts Saturday night in Cup:
-- Starts: 99
-- Wins: 0
-- Top-fives: 0
-- Top-10s: 6
-- Pole positions: 1
-- Average finish: 24.6
-- Laps led: 22
-- Lead lap finishes: 41
-- Best finish: Sixth, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Aug. 31, 2014
Grade: C-. There's no question Patrick has improved. Her average finish so far this year is 21.4, a step up from 23.7 last year and 26.1 in her rookie season. Still, she's driving the best cars in the series at Stewart-Haas Racing — just look at teammates Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch — and should be performing better. She doesn't have the experience many other drivers do, but the longer her career goes on, the less weight that excuse holds. To prove she belongs in a top ride, Patrick needs to start running in the top five on her good days and and securing more lead-lap finishes on the bad ones.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mot...h-sprint-cup-start/ar-AAcOT7X#image=AA3sqc7|1
