At Kentucky, Earnhardt Jr. struggled with overheated brakes, and even caused a caution when he brushed the outside wall in turns 3 and 4 halfway through the race. Later, on lap 206, he would be the subject of controversy when he rear-ended Danica Patrick and spun her out, in part because of his faulty brakes. Patrick retaliated by cursing at Earnhardt on the radio and ramming him on pit road. Earnhardt was perplexed with Patrick's reaction, saying "I mean, what am I supposed to say other than the truth? We didn't have any brakes going into the corner. I know better than to run into her because it gets so much attention. There wasn't nothing I could do. I mean, as hard as I hit her, what the hell did she think I was doing? Trying to wreck her? We ain't got no problem. It's not like we were having a problem out on the racetrack with her. It's not like I just drew her name out of a hat and decided she was the one I was going to run into tonight."