Danica Patrick Lets Temper Take Over, Gets $50,000 Reprimand From NASCAR

Danica Patrick has let her temper fly before on the track, but on Sunday she finally pushed the boundaries a bit too far when she reportedly deliberately slammed into another driver as retribution, ea...
Danica Patrick Lets Temper Take Over, Gets $50,000 Reprimand From NASCAR
Written by Amanda Crum
  • Danica Patrick has let her temper fly before on the track, but on Sunday she finally pushed the boundaries a bit too far when she reportedly deliberately slammed into another driver as retribution, earning her an official Behavioral Penalty from NASCAR officials.

    Patrick allegedly wanted revenge after she and fellow driver David Gilliland got tangled up on the track on Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, slamming into his car twice before heading back to the garage. While it’s unclear whether Gilliland hit her on purpose, things got heated between them over the radio before Danica slammed him up against the wall and then hit him from behind. She has since been fined $50,000, docked 25 points from the Sprint Cup Series numbers, and is on probation until December.

    Danica Patrick made headlines earlier this year when she and longtime friend Dale Earnhardt Jr. had an altercation on the track at Kentucky Speedway; after Earnhardt reportedly had trouble with his brakes and accidentally tapped the back of her car, Patrick became agitated and slammed into him in retaliation. Later, Dale said he didn’t understand why she thought he would hit her on purpose.

    “The brakes got worse and worse and worse and I probably shouldn’t have been racing as hard as I was when we ran into the back of Danica. But I went into that corner and mashed the brakes to the floor. I pumped it three times all the way to the floor and then ran into her. There wasn’t anything I could do. It sucks. I don’t like running into Danica because it gets a little too much attention, but I’m sorry for that,” Earnhardt said. “I mean, as hard as I hit her, what the hell did she think I was doing? Trying to wreck her?. We ain’t got no problem. It’s not like we were having a problem out on the racetrack with her. It’s not like I just drew her name out of a hat and decided she was the one I was going to run into tonight.”

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