Danica Patrick led the race for 20 laps at Montreal this weekend, but then she hit a shoe.
Patrick was in the lead at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve when a spectator threw a shoe onto the track. Patrick ran over the shoe and was able to hold the lead for the next few laps, but soon a mechanical failure, possibly caused by the shoe, forced her out of the lead.
After hitting the sneaker, Patrick can be heard on her radio, saying :
“What did I just hit?… Something’s wrong with my steering…”
Patrick eventually had to pull off the track and into pit row. She re-entered the race and eventually finished in 27th. Justin Allgaeir won the race.
Saturday’s race played out like several of Patrick’s other races this season. No, she hasn’t hit any other shoes, but Patrick has suffered several crashes and mechanical errors. Despite scoring some good qualifying positions, Patrick hasn’t been able to grab a win. She’s also failed to finish 6 times and is currently out of the top 10 in the point standings.
SHR co-owner/driver Tony Stewart defended Patrick’s results, saying that over-critical of his driver.
“I’ll be honest, I wish everybody would get off her back and just let her go race and let her learn. Everybody is putting so much pressure on her and so much focus on her… Going to a place that you’ve been to is obviously going to help, but everybody needs to take a step back and let this girl learn and do what she is trying to do there.”
Here’s the video of Danica Patrick hitting the shoe in Montreal.