Take 5: Five Things To Takeaway From Atlanta

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Take 4 – Danica Patrick

On the final G-W-C restart at Atlanta Danica Patrick was sitting in fourth place. Atlanta has easily been the closest that she has come to winning a race this season. Patrick’s 6th place finish at Atlanta was also her career best finish. That 6th place finish might have been a top-five had she not had the unfortunate luck of taking that final restart on the outside lane.

2014 has been an up and down season for Patrick but she has shown progress. She now has three top-10 finishes this season which is the same number as Austin Dillon and right behind AJ Allmendingers (4) and Aric Almirola (5) who are both in the 2014 chase. More importantly for Patrick is that her other finishes have improved as well. This season she has more top-20 finishes than she did in 2013. It’s been a slow process with her but she is coming along. Like a QB in the NFL, the third season is going to be a critical one.

In 2015 Patrick needs to consistently finish in the top-20 weekly. The tracks where she managed top-10 finishes in 2014, she needs to manage top-five finishes in 2015.

But that’s 2015, there are still 11 races to run in 2014 which means 11 more chances to win a race or post her first ever top-five.