"I care so much about it": When Danica Patrick struggled to find success at Tony Stewart's team

Following the conclusion of the 2016 Cup Series season, Danica Patrick summed up her year with Stewart-Haas Racing. Speaking about how 2016 turned out for her, Patrick touched upon how she struggled to find her form throughout the year, as it went down as one of the most underwhelming seasons in her career.

Patrick made her debut in the Cup Series at the 2012 Daytona 500 with Tommy Baldwin Racing, the team that was in an alliance with Stewart-Haas Racing. In 2013, she permanently moved to SHR under a full-time obligation to race in the top tier of stock car racing.

After three full-time seasons, 2016 arrived, and this was the season Patrick would want to forget. Following a 29th-place finish at Phoenix International Raceway, she elaborated on how she struggled to perform throughout the year. Here's what she told NASCAR on NBC:

“(It) might have been my worst ever Cup race. I felt so, so, so slow. The car would not turn. I just get so sad now. It’s just not much fun. Running in the top 15 every weekend would be so much more fun."

"It’s just so much more competitive (to be on the) lead lap, something on the line every time instead of terrible races where things don’t go well because things just sucked that day. I do just really, really hope it goes better. I care so much about it, it breaks my heart every Sunday when it doesn’t go well," she added.

In 2016, Danica Patrick participated in 36 races, where she failed to claim any Top 5 or Top 10 finishes. She faced three DNFs and had an average start position of 25.14 and an average finish position of 22.03. The Wisconsin-born driver finished the season in 24th place.

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When Tony Stewart expressed his support for Danica Patrick

At the end of 2017, Danica Patrick's future in the NASCAR Cup Series for the upcoming years seemed uncertain. This was right after Patrick competed in his last full-time season with SHR. Amid the uncertainty, she found support from Tony Stewart, the owner of her previous team SHR.

Danica Patrick, Stewart-Haas Racing, Warriors in Pink Ford Fusion races through turn four during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bank of America 500 on October 08,2017, at Charlotte Motor Speedway - Source: Getty

By posting a statement on his official Facebook account, the former NASCAR driver stated that he would have unwavering support for the Wisconsin-born driver. Here's what he wrote:

"I've always been a believer in Danica's ability as a race car driver, and that continues to be the case. She's one of the most fearless people I've ever met. She has never backed down from a challenge. In fact, she's sought out new challenges throughout her career, and that's what brought her to NASCAR and Stewart-Haas Racing."

Danica Patrick joined Premium Motorsports in 2018 to race in the Daytona 500, following which she departed from NASCAR. Throughout her career, the 43-year-old participated in 191 Cup Series races in over seven years, where she racked up a pole position and seven Top 10s.