NASCAR: Practice crash destroys Danica Patrick's primary car

Danica Patrick preparations for Sunday's Daytona 500 suffered a setback Wednesday when her primary car was destroyed in a multi-car crash during practice, on just her second lap at speed.

Patrick was unhurt in the incident, but will have to start at the rear of the field in a back-up car in tonight's second Budweiser Duel qualifying race.

"I'm fine," Patrick told NASCAR.com. "I'm obviously disappointed and I know that it was a good car and it's never a good thing to crash. But, I was just riding along and it turned, so it's the nature of pack racing and that's what makes it challenging, too. Sometimes there's not much you can do about it. I could have collected more people and it wouldn't have been anything that they were a part of. But that's just group racing at Daytona. That's the gamble that we all face. That's what makes it exciting and very frustrating. So, we knew we were going to have to run hard in the Duels no matter what, and that just doesn't change." 

Patrick was in the outside groove on the backstretch when Denny Hamlin pointed his No. 11 Toyota to the middle lane, making it three-abreast with Casey Mears on the low side. Patrick's car darted left, making contact with Hamlin and turning her into the outside wall. The cars of Michael Annett and rookie Jeb Burton also both sustained significant damage in the incident.