Racing pair go three-wide with Tony Stewart
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With 10 laps to go in the MyAFibStory.com 400, the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup opener at Chicagoland Speedway, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and his girlfriend, Danica Patrick, made contact and both got into the Turn 4 wall.
Stenhouse Jr., Patrick and Tony Stewart were running three-wide when Stenhouse got into Patrick’s left rear quarterpanel, bringing out the sixth caution of the race on Lap 257.
“The 17 hit me,” Patrick said on her radio as she and Stenhouse Jr. came to pit road. Stenhouse Jr. finished 17th, and Patrick finished 19th, the last car on the lead lap.
“I heard my spotter (Brandon Benesch) say that the 14 (Stewart) was below me on track, and I didn’t know the 17 (Stenhouse Jr.) was there on the high side of the track,” Patrick said. “My spotter took the blame on that one. I just didn’t know Ricky was up there, and I obviously don’t want to hit his car or anyone else with 10 laps to go.
“I talked with Ricky afterward and we’re fine. It’s just a tough deal. We finished 19th even with the damage so it was a decent run. We just had a tight car all day.”
The caution benefitted Chase driver Ryan Newman, who returned to the lead lap as the beneficiary of the free pass.
Below is a list of problems that plagued half of the Chase Grid field, finding four a lap down at the checkered flag:
| No. | Chase driver | Issue |
|---|---|---|
| 41 | Kurt Busch | Lap 46: Spun entering pit road |
| 5 | Kasey Kahne | Two pit-road speeding penalties |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick | Lap 70: Loose left rear tire |
| 31 | Ryan Newman | Lap 99: Blown left rear tire |
| 20 | Matt Kenseth | Lap 148: Spun entering pit road |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski | Lap 183: Right front loose tire |
| 99 | Carl Edwards | Lap 231: Blown left rear tire |
| 43 | Aric Almirola | Lap 231: Blown engine |
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