Le Nascar enchaîné

Event:                         Coca-Cola 600 (Round 12 of 36)

Series:                         NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

Location:                    Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)

Start/Finish:                20th/22nd (Running, completed 398 of 400 laps)

Point Standing:           18th (292 points, 181 out of first)

Winner:                       Carl Edwards of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Danica Patrick and the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) scored a 22nd-place finish in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

Patrick started the race from the 20th position and slipped to 24th before NASCAR threw a competition caution at lap 25. Crew chief Daniel Knost called for four tires, fuel, air pressure and wedge adjustments, and Patrick restarted in 19that lap 30. The team continued to make minor adjustments throughout the race in an effort to improve the car’s handling as the sun set over the 1.5-mile track.

Patrick was scored in the 22nd position when the caution flag waved at lap 136. As she pulled out of the team’s pit stall, two other cars made contact with the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS, damaging both front fenders. Knost called her back to pit road to repair the car, and Patrick restarted in the 29th position.

On the ensuing long, green-flag run, Patrick fell a lap down to the leaders. She was scored in the 25th position when the caution flag waved again at lap 224.

Patrick remained inside the top-25 for the rest of the race. When the field lined up for the final restart of the night at lap 341, Patrick was scored in the 18th position. She struggled on the restart, dropping to 23rd, then gained one position before the team made its final pit stop of the night at lap 389. Knost called for a two-tire stop with fuel, and Patrick rejoined the field in the 23rd position. She picked up one spot in the closing laps and finished 22nd.

“It was a really frustrating night,” Patrick said. “The car just felt like it was dragging down the straightaways. It’s the most frustrating thing in the world when you see everyone drive past you, but we dug deep and did our best to get everything we could out of the car, and the pit crew did a great job on pit road all night.”

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS, led the four-car SHR contingent Sunday by finishing ninth.

Harvick led three times for 26 laps to bring his laps-led total at Charlotte to 322. It was Harvick’s 11th top-10 this season and his 12th top-10 in 29 career Sprint Cup starts at Charlotte.

Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 10th. Busch led three times for 118 laps to bring his laps-led total at Charlotte to 623. It was his eighth top-10 in 30 career Sprint Cup starts at Charlotte, his fifth top-10 of 2015 and the ninth straight race that Busch has finished among the top-15.

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 21st. 

Carl Edwards won the Coca-Cola 600 to score his 24th career Sprint Cup victory, his first of the season and his first at Charlotte.

Greg Biffle finished 4.785 seconds behind Edwards in the runner-up spot, while Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top-five. Ryan Newman, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Harvick and Busch comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were eight caution periods for 39 laps, with four drivers failing to finish the 400-lap race.

With round 12 of 36 complete, Harvick leads SHR in the championship point standings. He is first with 473 points, 41 ahead of second-place Truex. Busch is 14th with 327 points, 146 out of first. Patrick is 18th with 292 points, 181 out of first. Stewart is 30th with 202 points, 271 out of first.

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks on Sunday, May 31 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. The race starts at 1 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX Sports 1.

-SHR-

Photo Jerry Markland, Getty Images for NASCAR