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Danica Patrick unscathed after wreck in Daytona 500 qualifier

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Danica Patrick’s NASCAR Sprint Cup debut did not end well, but it was not the fault of the former IndyCar star.

Patrick ran strongly for 59-and-a-half of the 60 laps in Thursday’s first Gatorade Duel at Daytona International Raceway, hanging around 10th place for most of the race.

But on Lap 60, as the field exited Turn 2, Jamie McMurray drove down from the top lane into Aric Almirola in the middle lane.

That sent Almirola’s Ford careening into Patrick, who then went on a wild and violent ride into the backstretch wall, where her Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet had a savage impact. Patrick was uninjured.

“I’m betting that everybody that was watching on TV probably had the best look,” Patrick said. “It was just a chain reaction every person that gets hit, next and next and next. It gets bigger and bigger. It felt like a pretty big hit, so I don’t know what it looked like. I’m really just bummed out that we didn’t finish the last two corners.”

Patrick’s accident was an unfortunate end, given that she drove well throughout the race. Until the crash, she had kept her nose clean and performed well.

“I felt like I was having at least a solid race,” she said. “Worked my way up there at the beginning a little bit and hung around in the front group for a while.”

It was a tough way to end the day.

“We were just looking to finish, to be honest,” Patrick said. “And that, unfortunately, was not the case. I don’t know. [The crash] felt pretty big. I didn’t know what it looked like.”