DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Danica Patrick's day started at the front of the pack. It ended with another frustrating wreck.
After starting from the pole position in Saturday's Nationwide Series race at Daytona International Speedway, Patrick was caught in a crash when JR Motorsports teammate Cole Whitt nudged her rear bumper and sent her spinning into the wall.
Patrick vented her frustration on the radio with her team immediately after the wreck, then acknowledged after the race that she wanted an explanation.
"I don't think it's ever great when teammates come together," Patrick said. "So we'll have to figure out what happened and move forward."
Whitt said he didn't mean to wreck Patrick, saying the incident was a result of the bumper-to-bumper style of racing at Daytona.
"Yeah, I think we'll be fine," Whitt said. "I wouldn't expect her to be happy about it. I wouldn't be happy about it, either. I don't know why anyone would expect her to be like, 'Oh yeah, it's great.' We're teammates. We want our teams to win. That's why we're trying to push each other anyways. We want to get our team up front together."
Patrick eventually got back into the race after her crew made extensive repairs to her car in the garage area. She finished 38th in a wreck-filled race that was won by James Buescher.
