Danica Patrick has little trouble clicking through the reasons why she’s off to the worst start of her IndyCar career.

Poor qualifying. Missed opportunities. Bad setups. Even worse luck.

Never, however, does Patrick use the word “NASCAR” while trying to explain what she admits is largely unexplainable.

Sorry. The superstar driver isn’t about to place blame on her part-time gig driving in NASCAR’s Nationwide Series for JR Motorsports.

“It just a really easy thing to look at, an easy excuse,” she said. “I don’t think there’s anything to it.”

Patrick is quick to point out that she’s simply the latest in a long line of drivers who have split time between different series. Tony Stewart did it. A.J. Foyt too.

If anything, Patrick figures the additional seat time should be making her a better driver. She has no doubt it will. It’s just not leading to better results, at least not yet.

Patrick is 16th in points heading into the Indy 500 and has finished outside the Top 10 in four of five races. She had seven such finishes all of last season, when she soared to a career-best fifth in the points standings.

She re-signed with Andretti Autosports to compete for a title. Two months into the season, she’s not even competing for the top spot on her own team.

“It’s just an unfortunate situation, and there’s no other answer,” she said.