In only her third cup start at Loudon, Patrick turned in a solid 22nd place finish raising her average finish there to an awesome 27th. The finish put her once again firmly in the top five of the bottom half of the field. She improved her stellar starting position by seven. And, with that she set new records for women.
Selected highlights of her memorable and historic day:
In a masterful display of talent she drove past Jeff Gordon towards the end for position
She soundly defeated last week’s winner, the highly competitive Aric Almirola, by several seconds.
Battled with the legendary Jeff Burton in his second start of the season in the always dangerous, part time 66 car. While she came up short she learned a great deal.
A lead lap finish. She skillfully saved her equipment and played the ServiceMaster Clean cautions. Including NASCAR’s always legit debris calls.
After a grueling stretch of competition, we’ll take a break from cup competition next week and return with vigor for the final races of the season.