Indy: Power Prevails, Danica Crashes Out

Danica Patrick ended her racing career on a sour note, wrecking her car on the second turn of the 68th lap at the Indy 500.

UPDATE Australian Will Power took the crown, overtaking runner-up Ed Carpenter and Scott Dixon for his first Indy win.

The Indianapolis Star reports that Ms. Patrick had been running near mid-pack when she lost control, slid into the outside wall and rebounded across the track, hitting the inside border.

She wraps up her Indy career with six top-ten finishes out of eight starts including the highest ever (third) by a female driver, in 2009.

She had announced her retirement from racing in November saying her last races would be the Indy and the Daytona 500. As it turned out, she crashed in both.

She ends her career with one IndyCar win. Her foray in NASCAR didn't end nearly as well; she failed to get a single NASCAR win in seven years, though she made top-ten seven times and won the pole once.

Ms. Patrick was philosophical about her finish: "I've had a lot of good fortune and still had some this month...

"Just didn't come on race day."

[Source: Indianapolis Star]