Danica Patrick Says Hard Work Is Key After Rough Week in Las Vegas

By Kent Whitaker
Danica Patrick
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

It was a rough week all around for Danica Patrick while in Las Vegas for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kolbalt Tools 400.  Patrick went from a hard hit during the race in Phoenix to getting hit in the head by a rock while watching a dirt track race as a fan. Sunday also proved to be a rough day for the driver on the track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“I was extremely loose the whole time,” Patrick  said. “I felt like I was about to spin on the front straight.” At the end of the day Patrick brought her Go Daddy.com No. 10 car in six laps down for a 33 place finish. Despite the tough run Patrick looked forward to the next race and the hard work that her and the team will have to do.

Patrick was quick to point out that she knows that her and her team have some hard work ahead of them.

“We know we’re going to have tough days,” Patrick said. “But this is not the kind of tough day we thought about. We’ve just got to work our butts off to where we never have this day again.”

Patrick radioed in during the race that the car would not handle well during the early running and was several laps down before the midway point. After problems in the pits the driver showed some veteran style by not letting the day’s problems get to her.

“That’s alright, guys,” she radioed to her pit crew. “If we’re going to have these days, might as well have them all together.” It was a move that prompted Tony Gibson, Patrick’s crew chief, to praise her for her patience. Patrick said after the race that not every weekend would be like her great run in Daytona.

“These are the days, and I said this on the radio, these are the days you earn your money, not the days like Daytona where you run up in the top-five all day,” Patrick said. “Those days are great, but you’re just marching forward. These are the days that you have to be strong and you have to work through it and not let it drag you down.”

Kent Whitaker is a member of NASCAR media, sports writer covering NASCAR and the NFL, author and culinary writer. You can follow him @thekentwhitaker on twitter or online.

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