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

Any progress that Danica Patrick made during the first several races of the Chase seems all but forgotten.

The Stewart-Haas Racing driver wasn't in contention for the Chase but had six top-20 finishes in eight races prior to Martinsville. Those results included six Chase races where several drivers were racing for a title.

In the last two races, Patrick has looked like a shell of herself with poor results on the track. After an accident at Martinsville caused her to fall behind 49 laps and finish 34th, the No. 10 machine wound up 36th and nine laps off the pace on Sunday at Texas.

Patrick's poor run also came during the first time on the track with new crew chief Daniel Knost. The former chief for Kurt Busch wasn't able to turn things around immediately for Patrick and might have a difficult task yet again in Phoenix.

Before the Sprint Cup circuit gears up for the second race in Phoenix, here's a look at the results, standings and latest news surrounding Patrick.

Pos.	Driver	Points	Wins	Top 5	Top 10
1	Joey Logano	4072	5	16	21
2	Denny Hamlin	4072	1	6	16
3	Ryan Newman	4070	0	4	15
4	Jeff Gordon	4060	4	13	21
5	Matt Kenseth	4059	0	12	20
6	Carl Edwards	4059	2	7	14
7	Brad Keselowski	4055	6	15	18
8	Kevin Harvick	4054	3	12	18
28	Danica Patrick	687 (N/A)	0	0	3

Race	Track	Start	Finish
The AAA Texas 500	Texas Motor Speedway	27	36
Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500	Martinsville Speedway	30	34
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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Uninspiring results continue for Patrick even after the change at the top of her team. Luckily, the two still have two races remaining to work toward improving communication and results.

If the first race together is any indication, however, both have a lot of work to do moving forward. Brant James of ESPN.com and Jeff Gluck of USA Today noted just how rough the day was for the new tandem:

To be fair, Sunday's result shouldn't be entirely on Knost. Prior to the switch, Patrick had just one finish on the lead lap at Texas and never put together even a top-20 result.

Rather than focusing on results at Texas, it appeared the new team was looking simply to grow more comfortable with one another. Patrick referenced the emphasis on conversation prior to the race, per Alan Cavanna of NASCAR.com:

Moving forward, the duo has yet another tough race ahead with Phoenix on tap.

Patrick's underwhelming results at the one-mile track don't look any better than recent runs at Martinsville and Texas. The only time she has ever finished 20th or better was her first race in 2012, and she hasn't been inside the top 30 since.

Here's a look at the full results from Patrick at Phoenix, via DriverAverages.com:

Date	Finish	Start	Laps Led	Driver Rating	Status
March 2, 2014	36	33	0	51.7	Running
Nov. 10, 2013	33	32	0	33.2	Running
March 3, 2013	39	40	0	44.2	Accident
Nov. 11, 2012	17	37	0	58.0	Running

Given those statistics over the course of her career, Patrick likely won't be turning a corner with Knost at the helm. Phoenix has not been kind to the No. 10 driver, but she has historically driven better during the fall starts.

Just two races remain on the season, so progress in the final stretch might not be coming for Patrick. But with more top-10 finishes and overall better results this season, Patrick might surprise again with a strong finish.

Banking on a top 10 at Phoenix seems unlikely with not only her history at the track, but recent shortcomings overall. Finishing on the lead lap would be a huge step for Patrick at Phoenix, so it's hard to envision a promising result.

Predicted finish: 24th

Follow @RCorySmith on Twitter.