If there were such a category at the NASCAR Nationwide Series Awards Banquet for the most improved driver on a limited schedule, Danica Patrick would take the honors.
Patrick has bettered her NASCAR career in almost every facet. In 2010, she finished the season ranked 43rd in the driver standings, having made 13 starts posting an average finish of 28.0 and leading only four laps. She also posted a season-to-date Driver Rating of 51.7 and an Average Running Position of 27.8, and only 2.3 percent of her laps completed were in the top 15.
This season she has exceeded expectations. Patrick is ranked 26th in the driver standings, having made 10 starts year-to-date, posting an average finish of 15.6 and having led 14 laps.
This weekend, many of the series competitors are looking at Phoenix as a wildcard with all the unknowns since the one-mile track was repaved, but Patrick has taken a different approach.
“I think it’s (Phoenix’s surface) going to be a little bit different, but probably for me that’s not the worst thing in the world because of being new to the car and new to the sport. It’s not the worst thing in the world that everybody has to start from learning the track a little bit,” said Patrick.
Though she calls Roscoe, Ill., her hometown, Patrick currently resides in Phoenix, Ariz., and will be making her third series start at Phoenix International Raceway this weekend. Patrick finished 32nd in 2010 and 17th earlier this season at Phoenix.
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