Danica Patrick: Latest News and 2014 Sprint Cup Ranking Ahead of Kentucky

Two words describe Danica Patrick's race at Sonoma: Mission accomplished.

Following her fourth top-20 finish of the season on the oval at Michigan, Patrick went into Sonoma hoping to improve upon her race from last year. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver didn't notch another top-10 finish but secured her first top-20 result at Sonoma in her career.

Patrick spoke about her thoughts on the course coming into Sunday's race, per Jeff Owens of Sporting News:

"

I’m very comfortable on road courses. I have a lot of fun. We tested at Road Atlanta a few weeks ago with Tony (Stewart). Hopefully, it goes better than last year.

The road-course races weren’t very much fun and they weren’t fun to drive. In the Nationwide Series, I had a lot of fun and led races and ran well. Our cars are a lot better this year and hopefully that shows this weekend.

"

After finishing 20th last season at Watkins Glen and slowly working her way into 18th at Sonoma, Patrick is showing vast improvement on road courses. While a top-10 result might still be a ways off due to stout drivers like Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer still dominating the courses, Patrick appeared more comfortable.

Now heading to a track where she narrowly missed out on finishing inside the top 20 last season, Patrick is hoping to secure her third straight quality result.

Here's a look at Patrick's results, current standings and news ahead of the Quaker State 400.

Pos.	Driver	Points	Wins	Top 5	Top 10
1	Jimmie Johnson	560	3	6	11
2	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	555	2	8	11
3	Carl Edwards	509	2	4	8
4	Joey Logano	483	2	6	8
5	Kevin Harvick	472	2	5	7
6	Jeff Gordon	580	1	6	12
7	Brad Keselowski	512	1	7	8
8	Kyle Busch	465	1	3	6
9	Denny Hamlin	453	1	4	5
10	Kurt Busch	347	1	3	3
11	Matt Kenseth	515	0	5	10
12	Ryan Newman	473	0	0	5
13	Kyle Larson	470	0	3	7
14	Paul Menard	459	0	3	9
15	Clint Bowyer	452	0	2	6
16	Greg Biffle	444	0	2	5
28	Danica Patrick	299	0	0	1

Race	Track	Start	Finish
Toyota/Save Mart 350	Sonoma Raceway	11	18
Quicken Loans 400	Michigan International Speedway	27	17
Pocono 400	Pocono Raceway	16	37
FedEx 400	Dover International Speedway	28	23
Coca-Cola 600	Charlotte Motor Speedway	4	39
5-Hour Energy 400	Kansas Speedway	9	7
Aaron's 499	Talladega Superspeedway	7	22
Toyota Owners 400	Richmond International Raceway	35	34
Bojangles' Southern 500	Darlington Raceway	33	22
Duck Commander 500	Texas Motor Speedway	24	27
STP 500	Martinsville Speedway	10	32
Auto Club 400	Auto Club Speedway	27	14
Food City 500	Bristol Motor Speedway	36	18
Kobalt 400	Las Vegas Motor Speedway	22	21
The Profit on CNBC 500	Phoenix International Raceway	33	36
Daytona 500	Daytona International Speedway	27	40

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While Patrick finished 18th and inside the top 20 for a second straight week, it wasn't all good for the SHR racer.

The 32-year-old found herself dropping from 11th all the way down to 30th at one point in the race. As she's done a few times in the past, Patrick redeemed herself in what looked like a poor showing to find her way back to relevance in a field of competitive road-course drivers.

Patrick noted the difficulties of driving at Sonoma, per USA Today:

"

I think we kind of salvaged something there. It would be good for a couple laps and then would just go away. We got lucky getting the Lucky Dog and then just pitted a couple of times for fresh tires and fuel and wound up 18th. It's not the best day, but I think we keep improving.

"

She also noted throughout the race on the radio that the car wasn't good on long runs, making it tough to handle on the lengthy road course.

Though her racing is slowly picking up on the track, it certainly hasn't slowed the criticism off it. Patrick has a rabid fanbase—she has over one million Twitter followers—but has also gained several detractors due to her driving.

That earned her a spot as one of the most polarizing figures in the sport, as Owens notes:

"

It’s no secret why Patrick is one of the most popular drivers in motorsports and in all of sports. The supermodel looks. The engaging personality. The worldwide celebrity. And a woman competing in a man’s game. [...]

But what is surprising is that she also has a lot of detractors. In fact, she is quickly becoming one of the most hated drivers among NASCAR’s fickle fan base.   

Many begrudge Patrick’s place in the sport — the fact that she is so popular and gets so much attention despite mediocre results on the track. Many also hate the fact that she has a top ride while other drivers struggle just to get an opportunity. 

"

Owens went on to note that success on the track could send her popularity to all new heights. Now heading to another oval track, Patrick might just find that notoriety this weekend.

Considering her lone IndyCar victory came at a 1.5-mile oval in Japan, one might think she would have success at the tracks in NASCAR. Through just one start at Kentucky in the Sprint Cup, she hasn't proved that theory true, finishing 23rd last year.

As for this season, the only top-10 finish for the SHR driver came at Kansas—a 1.5-mile course. That was a huge change from her final race at Kansas last year where she wound up 43rd after a wreck.

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With Patrick looking to find a similar turnaround result at Kentucky, here's a look at her previous finishes:

Date	Start	Finish	Laps Led	Driver Rating	Status
June 30, 2013	29	23	0	57.2	Running
Sept. 22, 2012*	11	14	0	77.0	Running
June 29, 2012*	11	12	0	86.0	Spindle

Though the results look much better in the Nationwide Series, Patrick has yet to prove herself on the track. But thanks to a seventh-place finish earlier in the year at Kansas, this weekend looks like one filled with promise for Patrick.

On a track where only three races have been ran on the Sprint Cup circuit, Patrick has nearly as much experience as every other driver going in. After improving upon her results at Sonoma, look for her to continue the streak with another top-20 result.

Predicted finish: 13th

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