Danica Patrick said she won’t participate in Friday morning’s Daytona 500 practice at Daytona International Speedway so her team can finish final preparations on her No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevy — a backup car the team rolled out after her crash in Thursday’s Gatorade Duel qualifying race.
Feeling it more important for the crew to get the car “perfect,” Patrick said she’ll just participate in the one-hour afternoon NASCAR Sprint Cup practice.
Although her primary car was destroyed in a hard crash on the last lap of the Duel race, Patrick said she is no worse for the wear.
“The team has been very supportive in telling me not to worry about the car,’’ Patrick said. “And my husband’s a physical therapist so we have all kinds of tricks to make sure I’m feeling OK."
She even wondered aloud if being relegated to the rear of the field with a back-up car is a blessing a disguise.
“Who knows, the backup car may be better,’’ Patrick said. “Everything happens for a reason so maybe this starting spot will be better for me from a learning perspective.’’
