Danica Patrick gets first taste of draft at Daytona
The second day of a three-day ARCA Racing Series presented by
RE/MAX and Menards test session at Daytona International Speedway
allowed Danica Patrick and other drivers to experience their first
stock car draft on Saturday afternoon.
Patrick, among more than 60 drivers participating in ARCA
Testing this weekend, worked with crew chief Tony Eury Jr. for the
duration of Saturday's full-day test session to prepare for her
stock car racing debut — the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 ARCA
race on February 6.
"These cars are different than the cars I'm used to driving,"
said Patrick, who was 19th in the Saturday afternoon session. "You
can run so much closer and you can cross over. You can't do that in
the cars I drive. I got comfortable. Today was good. Tomorrow will
be better."
Eury met with the media after Patrick's first drafting
session.
"She's doing really good," Eury said. "Drafting is not
something that you learn overnight. She has done really good
learning how to stay in a pack, learning what the car does in
different aero situations. We're pretty pleased. I think I need a
little more speed in the car just in single car runs. Overall, it
has been a good successful day. We'll come back here tomorrow and
let her draft a little bit more and I think we will be game on."
The draft also produced the fastest speeds of the day with a
trio of Venturini Motorsports drivers — Mikey Kile, Steve
Arpin and Alli Owens — holding the top-three positions on the
speed charts.
"We found a lot of stuff today and a lot of speed," said
Kile, fastest overall with a 183.061 mph lap. "We tried a lot of
different packages in single car runs and here at the end of the
day was our first drafting session. We had an awesome day...the
team had an awesome day."
Kile's teammates, Arpin and local, Daytona Beach, Florida,
native Owens, posted identical times (182.957 mph) while pushing
Kile around the 2.5-mile track.
Defending race winner James Buescher, in a Phoenix Racing
Toyota, was fourth fastest in the Saturday afternoon drafting
session, followed by Brandon McReynolds in Eddie Sharp's No. 2
Toyota.
There were two cautions during Saturday's testing, both for
single car incidents. Tim George Jr., in an RCR Chevrolet, spun in
turns 3 and 4 with a half-hour remaining during the session,
sustaining right side damage to his ARCA Racing Series car. The
second and final caution occurred with less than 20 minutes
remaining in the test day for a single car spin by Penske
Development driver Dakoda Armstrong. There was no damage.
The ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards will
return to DIS for a third and final day of testing Sunday. Much
like Saturday's schedule, Sunday morning will feature single car
runs while teams will have the option to draft on Sunday afternoon.
