Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Watkins Glen–Danica Patrick

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
CHEEZ-IT 355 AT THE GLEN
WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL
TEAM CHEVY FINAL PRACTICE QUOTES
AUGUST 8, 2014

DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 GODADDY CHEVROLET SS – INVOLVED IN A PRACTICE ACCIDENT IN THE CLOSING MINUTES OF THE FINAL PRACTICE SESSION AT WATKINS GLEN

WHAT HAPPENED?
“I blew a tire. I have no idea. I think it was only two laps, the second lap on tires. So apparently the No. 20 was radioing in saying there was some smoke. I never saw any, but he said he saw it and said ‘you guys should pit.’ Just in the carousel there is so much load on the left-front there that I guess that was the go spot for it. It has been a record horrible day I’m pretty sure.”

HOW HARD WAS THE HIT?
“I mean I was actually trying to – I left my left my left hand on the wheel and I went for the gear shifter because I was trying to go down a gear to try to get it sideway so it would just sort of hit the left-side so it wouldn’t go in front. I was going from second, but I was going to second. So I’m just not used to crashing at such slow speeds that I needed first gear to save it. Anyway, I’m sure it would have been not good either way. I just kind of hit my hand. It was one of the slow ones. What a terrible day…”

ANYTHING POSITIVE YOU CAN BRING OUT OF TODAY OTHER THAN YOU ARE OKAY?
“The only positive thing is that I’m hoping I’m using up all my bad luck and mistakes and all the bad stuff in one day, so that I can get it out of the system before we got to the next one. On the second thought I suppose that after an engine change this morning we were starting in the back anyway. Third I would say if you are going to have to start at the back of a track the strategies are all over the place on road courses and it just might push us into something that works.”

HOW DO YOU RACE FROM THE BACK OF THE FIELD AT THIS TRACK?
“You just try and get off sequence. I think that from the beginning – there are only two to three stops that are really needed so you’ve got to start from the beginning and just try and pit when nobody else does. If a yellow comes out you stay out and go long on fuel to try and make it in two stops and if nobody is coming in and trying to stretch it then you come in and hope for a yellow, then when the caution comes out you don’t pit and they do. Then you just fight for your life after that to not be driven over. I feel like the tires have been pretty consistent this weekend, so I think that is something we can pull off if everything goes our way.”

TONY GIBSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 10 GODADDY CHEVROLET SS – ON WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CAR IN THE INCIDENT:

DANICA THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE A BLOWN TIRE:
“To me it almost looks like the shock broke. She went into (Turn) one and she said it moved more than it normally did and then (Matt) Kenseth said it started tire smoking and as soon as he said that she hit. It looks to me like a shock broke. It looks like it just compressed all down and done.”

WILL YOU PUT THE ENGINE FROM THE PRIMARY CAR THAT WAS INVOLVED IN THE PRACTICE INCIDENT INTO THE BACK-UP SINCE YOU ALREADY HAD TO CHANGE ENGINES THIS MORNING?
“No we have another one. We will put a different motor in it. We are going to change motors.”

YOU ARE AT THE BACK ANYWAY:
“We will just treat qualifying like another practice session. We will run as many laps as we can run and work on the car.”