Danica Pactrick’s smashed hard into a wall after her car lost a tire on lap 176 exiting turn four Sunday’s Subway 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.
Patrick, who comes from a modest 8th position in the Sprint Cup Series' opening race a week ago, then saw her vehicle rebounding off the SAFFER barrier and collecting David Ragan.
From the collision the sheetmetal sheared off on the left of Patrick's car which started spraying safety foam from the inside of the car everywhere.
Patrick, who got out and walked away from the accident, wasn't the first driver on the day to suffer tire issues, as teammate Ryan Newman, among others, had previously hit the wall twice with right front problems.
“There was no warning of any tire issues with her car before the crash and my car suddenly drove straight to the right on me,” said the driver. Phoenix's flat layout is notoriously hard on brakes, especially those of ill-handling cars. Right front tires can have problems because of the buildup in brake heat from excessive usage in the corners.
Patrick officially started 40th and struggled with the handling of her car all day, never making much progress through the field before crashing. She finished 39th.
