This year's new format in the Chase to the Sprint Cup presents an interesting conundrum for drivers who are ineligible for the championship but have teammates who are in contention: "Should I try to win the race or do I defer to my title-chasing teammate?"
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Danica Patrick said she's willing to concede to Chase-eligible Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch. But if she has an opportunity for a win or a top-five finish in the nine remaining races in the Sprint Cup season, she won't back down from anyone.
"I think the one important thing of the Chase as far as those not in it, there's a lot more leeway given and it affects your races," Patrick said, according to ESPN.com. "And I surely don't want to be a jerk. And I try not to ever be one on the weekend, but I'd say even more so when it comes Chase time. People get way more fired up if you don't cooperate and move quickly out of their way. So let's hope I don't have to be in that position. Let's hope I am running for great spots on track, and it's only understandable I run hard for them."
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Her crew chief Tony Gibson reiterated that point.
"If a few of those guys are racing each other at the end of the race and we don't have any skin in the game, then obviously we'll be courteous and move over," he said. "But if we're trying to win or get a top-5, we're going to run hard. That's what we're supposed to do. Us winning or running a top-5 is just as important as one of those guys winning a championship, as far as I'm concerned."
This year's Chase format will feature 16 eligible drivers in 10 races with four drivers being eliminated from contention based on points and wins after every third race. In the first race this past Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway, non-qualifying rookie Kyle Larson battled hard for first place as he was seeking his first Cup. He eventually finished third behind Brad Keselowski and Jeff Gordon, and was praised by other drivers for his performance after the race.
Would a veteran like Patrick receive the same response if she races hard at the expense of her teammates? Stewart-Haas has shown team camaraderie before, as Tony Stewart's 2011 championship crew was given to Harvick to improve his title chances. Patrick's and her team will race hard when a win or a top-five finish is on the line, but their main objective will be helping their Chase-eligible teammates.
"Anything we can do as far as [Patrick] and [non-qualifying teammate Tony Stewart] to help these other two guys we have in the Chase, setup-wise, air-pressure stuff, anything we can do while we are at the racetrack to help those guys, that's what we're going to do [in the Chase]," Gibson said. "We're out to win one, obviously. But whatever we can do to help our teammates win, that is the main priority."
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