Danica crashes in Milwaukee heat.

A scorching day at the Milwaukee Mile made for some exceptionally tricky track conditions in Sunday's ABC Supply Co./AJ Foyt 225 and while this year's IRL rookie sensation Danica Patrick more than held her own for the first half of the race, the fickle Milwaukee oval would eventually prove too much.

After qualifying sixth in Saturday's MBNA Pole qualifying session, Patrick and her Rahal-Letterman Racing team seemed to be making all the necessary adjustments to enable them to remain competitive on an increasingly greasy track. Running in a solid sixth place however, Patrick's day came to an abrupt end on lap 126 of 225 when she spun her Panoz-Honda into the outside retaining wall in turn two with enough force to catapult the car back across the track to the inside wall as well.

"It was hard work but a lot of fun racing with Tomas (Scheckter), Dario (Franchitti) and Tony (Kanaan) on the short track," said Patrick, who was checked and released from the infield medical centre. "The hardest thing about today was that there wasn't any consistency in the track. The grip would be decent for a few laps and then it was gone. Just when you thought you were ok you would get a scare because of the slick conditions.

"I was able to get into sixth and close a little on Dario and Tony. But when I turned in into turn two, the car was pushing. So I turned a little more and the rear just came around. I was surprised by the snap of the car. I was ready for the first hit on the outside. Then the second hit on the inside surprised me. I'm a little mad because I felt like we had a good chance for the top-five. I thought to myself a few laps before I hit, if I just finish I have a great shot at a top-five."

Patrick's 19th place finish dropped her one place to eleventh in the overall championship but she still leads the rookie standings by a comfortable margin.