She's Gone Country

A top-20 finish was just what Danica Patrick and the GoDaddy.com team needed to kick off the final ten races of the season.

After a long, rain delayed race, almost seven hours total, the race finally ended well into the night in Chicago last Sunday. An hour and a half delay at the start of the race due to a misty Chicago left the drivers and teams hoping and praying that they could get the race at least to the halfway point before more rain hit. Unfortunately, they didn’t quite make it there. On lap 108, just shy of the halfway point, the rain hit and hit hard. The teams and drivers, along with the fans in the stands, scattered for shelter. Crewmen were seen napping in the garage and some drivers even made a trip to Sonic for some mid-race food. When the race finally resumed, over five hours later, the cars were suddenly racing under the lights.

Patrick, who started the race in 26th, drove a great race and ran as high as 16th before coming home 20th and on the lead lap.

“We weren’t the fastest car out there, but we were decent and relatively consistent,” Patrick said in a press release, “The cars are getting better, and I’m learning things. It’s going in the right direction. I’d like it to go further, but I’ll take any progress. Overall, it was a good night for the GoDaddy team. The pit crew was great once again, and it was a positive night for us.”

Patrick’s week was full of excitement as she announced that she would be co-hosting an awards show in December. The 4th annual American Country Awards will air on FOX on December 10th and Patrick will join the shows original host, Trace Adkins. Adkins, who stands six and a half feet tall, is excited to be working with Patrick.

“I can’t wait to see if I have what it takes to keep up with this racing superstar,” said Adkins.

Patrick, who, in years past has expressed her dislike for country music, now finds herself listening and singing along to country’s top artists more and more.

“I’m so excited to host the AMERICAN COUNTRY AWARDS with Trace Adkins,” Patrick said. “I have no doubt he’ll be able to keep up with me. I’ve become a huge fan of country music since I came to NASCAR and have been fortunate to be in videos with Miranda Lambert and Colt Ford. This is going to be a really cool experience and I’m excited to be a part of it. It’s going to be a great show!”

As far as her new love for the genre, Patrick has Ricky Stenhouse Jr and NASCAR to thank for that.

“It really started when I got to NASCAR. I started picking up on it,” Patrick said. “I got asked to be in Miranda Lambert’s video, Fastest Girl in Town, and I bought her album and the Pistol Annie album and started listening. Ricky (Stenhouse Jr.) has certainly helped my country music education, as well. I like the music and have had the opportunity to meet a lot of country artists, so it’s been fun. Ricky and I actually shot a video with Colt Ford a couple of weeks ago. I still like Pearl Jam and Alanis (Morissette), but I’m a huge country fan, now.”

Although she will soon add “Awards Show Host” to her long resume, Patrick still has nine more races to go before the end of the season. This weekend, the series takes on New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the second time. In her first Sprint Cup Series start at the track, Patrick’s day ended early when she was involved in a wreck on lap 237.

After qualifying 21st on Friday, Patrick and the team are hoping for another top-20 finish this weekend. Tune in to the Sylvania 300 on Sunday at 2:00PM EST on ESPN.