Danica Patrick can’t seem to avoid controversy with Penske Racing drivers, but Saturday the contact had nothing to do with Sam Hornish Jr. and everything to do with former Formula One racer Jacques Villeneueve.
Patrick, whose fourth-place finish last year at Las Vegas was the highest for a female in a NASCAR national series, was battling for fourth when a soft tap from Villeneuve into the rear of her car sent Patrick into the gravel on the final lap of the Sargento 200 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis.
She was able to drive out of the gravel and back on to the track to finish 12th, while Villeneuve finished sixth in the 50-lap road-course event, which was won by Nelson Piquet Jr.
“I just saw it right there on the screen. … Y’all can make a decision for yourself what you think happened there,” Patrick said.
Villeneuve, driving for Penske Racing, had just gotten past Max Papis for the fifth spot and indicated he had dirt on his tires when he reached Patrick.
“When I was behind Danica and Papis was on the outside, maybe he didn’t know I was there, but down the straight, he pushed me in the grass just before I hit the brakes,” Villeneuve said on the television broadcast following the race.
“When I jumped on the brakes. … I couldn’t slow down because of that.”
Patrick, who has had two skirmishes with her former IndyCar rival Hornish this year, was obviously disappointed. She has only one top-10 finish this season, her first full Nationwide season for JR Motorsports.
“The bummer is we weren’t able to finish that off and finish with a top-five like I felt we deserved,” Patrick said. “The guys did a great job in the pits. They were awesome. … People sort of say I don’t get good results, but today I ran well, and I feel like lately we’ve been running much better but we just haven’t sort of finished the deal.”
Patrick ran with the leaders for most of the afternoon—and even momentarily led the race when she passed Miguel Paludo on lap 21, only to give it back a few seconds later when she slightly overshot a turn and got passed. Patrick also shot up to second place on a late restart but couldn't hold the spot, fading slightly before getting involved in the incident with Villeneuve.
Patrick got off to a quick start, passing Justin Allgaier for second place on lap 12 before a caution flag came out for T.J. Bell's spinout. Several drivers pitted, giving the lead back to McDowell, but Max Papis took it away from it on the subsequent restart.
On lap 21, Patrick passed Paludo for the lead in Turn 3. But her car went slightly wide in Turn 5, and she was passed by Paludo and two other cars. Paludo pitted, giving the lead to Villeneuve.
Villeneuve was out front for the middle stages of the race until another caution came out for Kenny Habul's crash on lap 31. That allowed most drivers to make what was expected to be their final pit stops of the day.
Patrick came out of the pits first, followed by Villeneuve, and they lined up for the next restart behind Hornish Jr. and Allgaier, who stayed on the track instead of pitting. Papis was penalized for failing to remove equipment during a pit stop.
Patrick, whose fourth-place finish last year at Las Vegas was the highest for a female in a NASCAR national series, was battling for fourth when a soft tap from Villeneuve into the rear of her car sent Patrick into the gravel on the final lap of the Sargento 200 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis.
She was able to drive out of the gravel and back on to the track to finish 12th, while Villeneuve finished sixth in the 50-lap road-course event, which was won by Nelson Piquet Jr.
“I just saw it right there on the screen. … Y’all can make a decision for yourself what you think happened there,” Patrick said.
Villeneuve, driving for Penske Racing, had just gotten past Max Papis for the fifth spot and indicated he had dirt on his tires when he reached Patrick.
“When I was behind Danica and Papis was on the outside, maybe he didn’t know I was there, but down the straight, he pushed me in the grass just before I hit the brakes,” Villeneuve said on the television broadcast following the race.
“When I jumped on the brakes. … I couldn’t slow down because of that.”
Patrick, who has had two skirmishes with her former IndyCar rival Hornish this year, was obviously disappointed. She has only one top-10 finish this season, her first full Nationwide season for JR Motorsports.
“The bummer is we weren’t able to finish that off and finish with a top-five like I felt we deserved,” Patrick said. “The guys did a great job in the pits. They were awesome. … People sort of say I don’t get good results, but today I ran well, and I feel like lately we’ve been running much better but we just haven’t sort of finished the deal.”
Patrick ran with the leaders for most of the afternoon—and even momentarily led the race when she passed Miguel Paludo on lap 21, only to give it back a few seconds later when she slightly overshot a turn and got passed. Patrick also shot up to second place on a late restart but couldn't hold the spot, fading slightly before getting involved in the incident with Villeneuve.
Patrick got off to a quick start, passing Justin Allgaier for second place on lap 12 before a caution flag came out for T.J. Bell's spinout. Several drivers pitted, giving the lead back to McDowell, but Max Papis took it away from it on the subsequent restart.
On lap 21, Patrick passed Paludo for the lead in Turn 3. But her car went slightly wide in Turn 5, and she was passed by Paludo and two other cars. Paludo pitted, giving the lead to Villeneuve.
Villeneuve was out front for the middle stages of the race until another caution came out for Kenny Habul's crash on lap 31. That allowed most drivers to make what was expected to be their final pit stops of the day.
Patrick came out of the pits first, followed by Villeneuve, and they lined up for the next restart behind Hornish Jr. and Allgaier, who stayed on the track instead of pitting. Papis was penalized for failing to remove equipment during a pit stop.
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