DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—After getting caught up in an early wreck, Danica Patrick returned to the Daytona 500 on lap 62 Monday night.
Patrick got caught in a six-car crash on lap 2 when Elliott Sadler hit Jimmie Johnson from behind in the middle of a big pack of traffic.
Johnson’s car slammed into the frontstretch wall, collecting the cars of Patrick, Kurt Busch, David Ragan and Trevor Bayne.
Patrick’s car suffered damage to the right rear, forcing her to take it to the garage for extensive repairs. She was running 40th, 62 laps behind, when she returned to the race.
Patrick was involved in a wreck in all three races she ran at Daytona—none of which were caused by her. She was turned by Aric Almirola in her Gatorade Duel qualifying race on Thursday and then spun by her teammate, Cole Whitt, in the Nationwide Series race on Saturday.
Patrick, who is running the full Nationwide schedule this year, made her Sprint Cup debut in the Daytona 500. She is scheduled to make nine more Cup starts this year.
Patrick completed 138 laps and finished 38th overall. Johnson placed 42nd while Ragan was last.
