Sometimes, in racing, a weekend comes along that just feels different. The kind where a driver walks a little taller and fans lean in closer because something special might be brewing. That was Danica Patrick at Charlotte in 2014.
After years of grinding and facing more than her share of doubt, Patrick showed up to the Coca-Cola 600 weekend raring to go. She’d just come off a seventh-place finish at Kansas Speedway, her career-best in the NASCAR Cup Series. And now, she was heading into one of the sport’s crown jewel races with the kind of confidence fans hadn’t seen from her in a while.
Danica Patrick: Indy Star Turns Stock Car Contender
Before she ever climbed into a stock car, Patrick was already a household name in IndyCar. She took the open-wheel world by storm, earning six top-10 finishes in seven Indy 500 starts, including a phenomenal third-place run in 2009 that’s still talked about today. But NASCAR was a whole different beast.
Since switching over full-time in 2012, her Memorial Day Weekend outings had been rather quiet — 30th in 2012, 29th in 2013. Nothing to write home about. But in 2014, Charlotte had a different vibe.
Patrick had qualified fourth — her best-ever starting spot on a downforce track — and clocked in as the third-fastest in practice. She even had the third-best 10-lap average behind two NASCAR heavyweights: Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick.
“We have a lot to be proud of,” Patrick admitted about qualifying to USA TODAY Sports. “I mean, let’s face it: Qualifying is the part of the weekend that I dreaded every time. I had to train myself to not say I hate qualifying.” But this time, she had nailed it. The No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet felt good, and so did she.
The High Hopes That Faded Too Soon for Danica Patrick
The green flag dropped, and Patrick had wasted no time. She had passed Brad Keselowski by Lap 4 and took second place like it was hers for the keeping. But NASCAR’s longest race can be a cruel one.
The car started getting loose. She slipped back, eventually falling to 13th by Lap 72. Then Harvick, her SHR teammate, came around and put her a lap down on Lap 91.
Even after getting back on the lead lap with a wave-around, the handling just wasn’t there. And if that wasn’t enough, disaster struck. On Lap 236, as Marcos Ambrose spun, Patrick slowed to avoid the chaos — but still got collected in the wreck. Just like that, her race was over, and she finished in 39th place.
But here’s the thing: even though the end result stung, that weekend mattered. For a few laps under the Charlotte lights, Patrick looked like she belonged at the front. And when you’ve spent years fighting uphill, moments like that are worth remembering.