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

In the second race at Talladega during the 2014 season, Danica Patrick took her first top-20 finish of her career at the track. What appeared to be a decent finish was nowhere close to the work that she put in during the race.

Patrick started 27th after a controversial qualifying round that saw her boyfriend, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., miss the race. Several good runs saw Patrick get near the top and even lead seven laps, running her tally to 13 laps led at 'Dega on the season.

ESPN Stats & Info points out where she now stands from a historical perspective:

Each time she found her way to the top, the difficulty was finding a drafting partner. Patrick was eventually able to transition each time she fell behind, but the 19th-place finish was certainly not indicative of her day.

The NASCAR circuit now heads to Martinsville, where Patrick had a pair of good finishes last season. Here's a look at Patrick's results, standings and latest news ahead of the Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500.

Pos.	Driver	Points	Wins	Top 5	Top 10
1	Joey Logano	4000	5	15	20
2	Kevin Harvick	4000	3	11	17
3	Brad Keselowski	4000	6	14	17
4	Matt Kenseth	4000	0	12	19
5	Jeff Gordon	4000	4	12	20
6	Ryan Newman	4000	0	3	14
7	Carl Edwards	4000	2	7	13
8	Denny Hamlin	4000	1	6	14
27	Danica Patrick	669 (N/A)	0	0	3

Race	Track	Start	Finish
Geico 500	Talladega Superspeedway	27	19
Hollywood Casino 400	Kansas Speedway	29	16
AAA 400	Dover International Speedway	13	25
Sylvania 300	New Hampshire Motor Speedway	18	19
MyAfibStory.com 400	Chicagoland Speedway	18	19
Federated Auto Parts 400	Richmond International Raceway	13	16
Oral-B USA 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway	27	6
Irwin Tools Night Race	Bristol Motor Speedway	24	27
Pure Michigan 400	Michigan International Speedway	14	18
Cheez-It 355	Watkins Glen International	43	21
GoBowling.com 400	Pocono Raceway	10	30
Brickyard 400	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	14	42
Camping World RV Sales 301	New Hampshire Motor Speedway	29	22
Coke Zero 400	Daytona International Speedway	29	8
Quaker State 400	Kentucky Speedway	10	21
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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Leading up to the race in Talladega, there was plenty of news surrounding Patrick. Unfortunately, not much of it was encouraging.

Prior to qualifying for the race even taking place, Patrick was apparently under fire from a teammate. Kevin Harvick, the lone Stewart-Haas Racing driver still in the Chase, had interesting comments inserted in a story on Motorsport.com.

The quotes were written to make it appear he was putting down his SHR teammate, but the full quote tells a different story. Below is a look at the quotes leading up to and following the statement on Motorsport.com, courtesy of Stef Schrader of Kinja.com:

"

[It would] be easier to tell you where she hasn't improved, and I don't know where that is. That would be a really short list. Danica can run in the top 15 every week and from where she was last year at any style of race track if it all goes right. She has the speed and she has qualified way better. …

She's very good at digesting information and trying to overcome those hurdles by listening to the people that are around her. … She's improved in every category on the list.

"

Sure, out of context, his quote can seem a bit harsh. But when considering the drivers she has around her like Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch and Harvick, it's true that she might never catch up to their experience. However, she's improved this season, and it appears Harvick has taken notice.

By the time qualifying did roll around, Patrick was left furious over the way the round was run. When Stenhouse missed the race, the SHR driver voiced her frustration on Twitter:

After all the hoopla with Harvick and qualifying was finished, Patrick's current crew chief, Tony Gibson, re-signed with SHR. There was no promise that he would be returning to lead her during the following season.

Gibson spoke about re-signing prior to the race, per Bob Pockrass of Sporting News:

"

I know I’ll be crew chiefing next year. I don’t know who that will be for. I’m assuming it will be her, but I don’t know that they’ve gotten that far down the road yet, and it didn’t really matter to me.

As long as I can make a difference and it’s what they need me to do to help the company, then that’s what I’ll do.

"

Following all of the controversy leading up to the race, Patrick still put up a good fight on the track. Not only did she lead laps late in the race, but Patrick was also a contender earlier in the race before not being able to find a draft partner.

Nate Ryan of USA Today noted the struggles at the front for Patrick:

Heading into Martinsville, Patrick has another chance to make some noise.

Earlier this season, the No. 10 car fell behind and eventually finished 32nd after starting 10th. During her previous two races at the short track, she had two top-20 finishes and nearly secured a top 10 from her first race in Virginia.

Here's a look at her results in Martinsville, courtesy of DriverAverages.com.

Date	Finish	Start	Laps Led	Driver Rating	Status
March 30, 2014	32	10	0	52.4	Running
Oct. 27, 2013	17	41	0	64.7	Running
April 7, 2013	12	32	0	72.6	Running

Needless to say, Patrick has a great chance of turning in yet another top-20 result in Martinsville. With three top-10 finishes this season, the No. 10 car should also be a contender for another and play spoiler to the Chase drivers.

Looking to finish the season strong, Patrick has four more races to gain another top 10, her first top five or even a victory. Leading seven laps at Talladega gives her confidence, but Martinsville is a completely different track to conquer.

Expect Patrick to contend again at the short track and continue a solid finish despite missing the Chase.

Predicted finish: 15th

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