SPARTA, Ky. - Danica Patrick posted her seventh top-ten result of the season and showed again the RLR progress with the new Dallara chassis in the Meijer Indy 300 presented Coca-Cola and Secret at the Kentucky Speedway. Patrick led the RLR trio claiming the lone top-ten result.

For Patrick it was the sixth time she has topped the RLR results sheet this season and the third time in the last four races in the No. 16 Argent Mortgage Honda/Dallara/Firestone.

"It was a tough day today and I certainly don't think my day was horrible," said Patrick. "The car was pretty fast at the end and that is a tribute to the guys who worked really hard. We picked up a top-ten result and I probably could have been a couple of spots higher, but I got chopped pretty bad late in the race. Actually there were a lot of people driving desperate today. Sure we intimidate each other, but there is a certain code and today that was thrown out the window. Considering how bad things were at the end of warm-up we have to be happy with this result. Again I really have to give props to my guys considering all the work they had to do to the car after Vitor hit me during the warm-up."

Jeff Simmons started fifteenth, but through pit strategy and some strong early laps he moved into the top-five. Simmons appeared on his way to his fifth straight top-ten result when a late race mechanical problem halted his charge forward.

"Early in the race we were able to move up and run with the second pack that was fifth through 12th, and I was able to run flat (on the throttle) and draft up to a lot of people," said Simmons. "We caught a break on the first pit stop as we were able to pit under yellow. I raced with the leaders for a while, but the car wasn't as good as the Penske or Ganassi cars and I slid back to eighth. After the second pit stop, the car was a little loose and I couldn't run with those guys again. Still it felt great to put the Team Ethanol car up in the top five and stay in the top eight. We were hoping for another top ten after four in a row. We were competitive enough for that but the mechanical problem late knocked us out of it. Overall the car was pretty good today and we learned some things. Now it is on to Infineon (Raceway) and the tough road course. We'll be ready for that race."

For Buddy Rice, who started fourteenth and finished fifteenth, the day proved to be long and frustrating.

"It was a wild start for me. I got thrown up near the wall and came close to hitting it," said Rice. "A bunch of guys went to the low line and then slid up into me. Then I went into turn one and the same thing happened again in turn two. I thought I was done for the day on the first lap, but I manage to hang on. The car wasn't really too bad after that but I was so far behind the draft that I couldn't catch back up. After the pit stops, I was able to run in the pack but I was never able to get close to the top five. We made an adjustment to stop the car from pushing and we went a little too much on the change. That change made the car loose and it is a handful on this track with a loose car. I feel bad for the No. 15 Argent Honda crew. They are busting their butts and we can't get in the mix to race up front. I am looking forward to getting back to road circuit at Infineon (Raceway). We were second there last year so I hope can repeat that run or maybe even a little better."

Penske Racing's Sam Hornish Jr. reclaimed the points lead by edging Scott Dixon by .5866 of a second. The win propelled Hornish back into the points lead taking control back from his Penske teammate Helio Castroneves. The two teammates are separated by a mere seven points heading into the penultimate round at Infineon Raceway (August 25 - 27).