No. 10 driver furious after getting into wall
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SPARTA, Ky. -- Danica Patrick was not happy with Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Following the duo's on-track clash during Saturday night's Quaker State 400 Presented by Advance Auto Parts at Kentucky Speedway, the Stewart-Haas Racing driver climbed out of her No. 10 Chevrolet post-race, slammed her helmet down on top of the car and flung her earpieces. A representative for Patrick -- who finished 34th -- refused comment for the No. 10 driver, who immediately began walking briskly toward her hauler.
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She was stopped midway by three-time champion and Stewart-Haas Racing team co-owner Tony Stewart, who gave her a quick post-race lecture about on-track retaliation.
Emotion overcame Patrick at Lap 206 of the 400-mile race when Earnhardt -- who had been battling brake problems all night -- ran into the back of her No. 10 Chevrolet. Patrick retaliated by shoving into the No. 88 car on pit road. Earnhardt reciprocated the gesture immediately by cutting her off.
"I didn't have any brakes," Earnhardt told his team on the radio after the incident. "I don't even know why we're out here."
This didn't appease Patrick, who colorfully expressed her fury on her own radio.
"(Expletive) 88," Patrick said to her team. "Did he (expletive) hit me? Go (expletive) yourself. Really?"
For Junior, the reasoning behind the collision came down to one simple fact: He couldn’t stop.
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"We cooked the brakes real fast," Earnhardt said on pit road after the race after finishing 21st. "… They got worse and worse and worse and I probably shouldn't have been racing as hard as I was when we ran into the back of Danica. But I went into that corner and just mashed the brakes to the floor, pumped it three times all the way to the floor and then ran into her.
"There wasn't nothing I could do. It sucks, I don't like running into Danica cause it gets a little too much attention. But I'm sorry for that."
Earnhardt recognized and understood her anger, saying it's "hard not to (retaliate) if you're in her shoes." Nevertheless, the No. 88 driver exasperatedly questioned Patrick's thought process during her retaliation, as the duo hadn't had any issues prior to the squabble.
"What am I supposed to say other than the truth?" Earnhardt said. "We didn't have any brakes going into the corner … There wasn't nothing I could do. I mean as hard as I hit her, what the hell did she think I was doing -- trying to wreck her? We ain't got no problem with her. It's not like I was having a problem with her out there on the race track.
"Not like I just drew her name out of a hat. Just decided 'She's who I'm going to run into tonight,' " Earnhardt said with a chuckle.
ALL ACCESS: Danica confronts Denny at Daytona
Despite Patrick's hot temper and colorful language aimed at him, Earnhardt isn't worried about the pair's relationship.
"She'll chill out," Earnhardt said. "So, it happens to all of us. I'm not too worried about it. I've got pretty good friends, so I think we'll be able to talk it out."