Patrick finishes 21st at Watkins Glen

Danica Patrick survived an accident and gained 22 spots to finish 21^st in Sunday’s Cheez-It 355k at The Glen NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the road course at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International.

Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), started 43^rd in a backup car due to an accident in the primary car during Friday practice.

She began slowly moving through Sunday’s field and was midpack on lap 57 when she was caught up in a large accident involving Ryan Newman, Michael McDowell, Greg Biffle and Alex Bowman that delayed the race for more than an hour as repairs were made to a guardrail. Patrick had contact causing damage to the left front of her racecar and was forced to make three pit stops to fix it.

Tony Gibson and his GoDaddy crew worked on the left front of the car and made the adjustments to get her back out without losing a lap. She fought hard the rest of the race and scored a respectable 21^st.

“It’s been a tough day,” Patrick said. “It was a long race, but Gibson and the GoDaddy guys worked on the car and we got a 21^st out of it, which isn’t bad with the weekend we had. We’ll come back at Michigan next week.”

Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS, led the four-car SHR contingent by finishing third to record his fifth top-five this season and his second top-five and sixth top-10 in 14 career Sprint Cup starts at Watkins Glen. It was also his 195^th top-10 in 493 career Sprint Cup starts.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished seventh. It was his 11^th top-10 this season and his seventh top-10 in 14 career Sprint Cup starts at Watkins Glen. It was also his 220^th top-10 in 488 career Sprint Cup starts.

Regan Smith, subbing for Tony Stewart in the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 37^th after being involved in an accident that forced him out of the race nine laps shy of the 90-lap distance.

AJ Allmendinger won the Cheez-It 355k at The Glen to score his first career Sprint Cup victory.

Marcos Ambrose finished 1.160 seconds behind Allmendinger in the runner-up spot, while Busch, rookie Kyle Larson and Carl Edwards rounded out the top-five. Joey Logano, Harvick, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth and Brian Vickers comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were six caution periods for 17 laps, with six drivers failing to finish.

With round 22 of 36 complete, Harvick continues to lead the SHR contingent in the championship point standings. He is eighth with 645 points, 128 behind new series leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. Stewart is 21^st with 537 points, 236 out of first. Busch is 23^rd with 529 points, 244 out of first. Patrick is 28^th with 419 points, 354 out of first.

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Pure Michigan 400 on Sunday, Aug. 17 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. The race starts at 1 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with its prerace show at noon.

SHR