The big one
Patrick, Waltrip among those eliminated by wrecks
13-car wreck takes out Danica Patrick, Michael Waltrip,
DAYTONA BEACH, FLA . A brutal crash involving Danica Patrick, Michael Waltrip and several other drivers knocked 13 drivers out of the Daytona 500 on Sunday.
The crash began on lap 146 of 200 in Turn 4 when the cars of Kevin Harvick and Brian Scott made contact in the middle of a huge pack. The bump pushed Scott into Aric Almirola’s Ford, which sliced across the middle of the track and hit Patrick’s Chevrolet.
Patrick lost control and slammed hard into the outside wall as sliding cars spun down the frontstretch and onto the wet grass adjacent to the racing surface.
The crash resulted in the race’s third caution, the first since the event resumed after a six-hour rain delay.
Patrick didn’t stick around for interviews after telling Fox she was fine after the hit.
“I felt everything was going pretty well,” Patrick said. “It’s just upsetting, a culmination of sitting around all day. It’s a bummer, but that’s the excitement of speedway racing, that anything can happen. It’s unfortunate I was on the short end of the accident, but that’s the type of thing that happens.”
Parker Kligerman, Paul Menard, Austin Dillon, David Gilliland, Kasey Kahne, Marcos Ambrose, Kevin Harvick, Justin Allgaier, Josh Wise, Almirola and Scott also were involved, though several continued in the race.
“I don’t know how it started, but I do know how it ended,” Waltrip said. “A couple got together, and I saw it. I went off and was coasting, knowing I was going to be fine. I cut down pit road to miss it, and somebody just cleaned my clock from behind. I know it was a black car; I don’t know who it was. I guess they just didn’t get the word there was a wreck.”
Later in the race, a multicar wreck set up a shootout finish.
Ryan Newman got turned by Richard Childress Racing teammate Dillon and several other cars piled in.
The damaged cars included both of Swan Racing ’s machines — driven by rookies Kligerman and Cole Whitt — along with Scott, Allgaier and veteran Terry Labonte, who has said this would be his last Daytona 500.
The cleanup from the wreck left only a few laps left to decide the winner.
Earlier, on lap 161, a crash took out Kyle Larson. Dillon again was involved.
“Finally got in the lucky dog position and was just kind of running the middle lane there,” Larson said. “I don’t know if Austin got loose or got shoved up into me, but it got us sideways. Frustrating day, but we’ll go to Phoenix next week and try to do a lot better.”
On lap 183, 2012 Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne was knocked out of the race when Denny Hamlin got loose and got into Bayne’s left front fender, sending him into the outside wall.
Clint Bowyer parked his car on lap 128 with an apparent blown engine.
As Bowyer walked hastily to his motor coach, bypassing his garage, his crew pushed the wrecked car to the garage. Once there, they opened the car’s deck lid, releasing trapped smoke with an acrid, electronic smell.
“Hard to put into words how disappointed I am,” Bowyer tweeted. “Those guys work so hard for that one opportunity a year.”
Patrick’s teammate and car owner, Tony Stewart, had fuel cell issues and was denied again in his quest to win the Daytona 500, this time in a return from a broken leg suffered in a sprint car crash Aug. 5.
Stewart experienced fuel pickup problems earlier in the race before pitting on lap 125 so that his team could check the Chevrolet. He returned to the track after 13 laps but soon thereafter went to the garage area for a fuel cell change.