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Danica Patrick is now, officially, staying in the IndyCar Series.
Patrick signed a three-year contract to remain with Andretti Green Racing during last weekend’s event at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit in Japan. She will continue to drive the No. 7 car with a Motorola-based sponsorship.
Patrick could not be reached for comment Thursday night, but it is believed she has not resolved her options for driving a stock car in the future. Indianapolis Star
NASCAR star Tony Stewart said earlier this month that he has no doubts that Patrick will eventually make the jump to stock cars. In fact, they’ve talked frequently about what it would take for Patrick to go form open-wheel racing to the heavier cars.
“I just know that she’s excited about this and making this change,” Stewart before a race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. “I can pretty much guarantee at some point she’s going to be over here.”
Stewart made the same jump himself more than a decade ago, leaving the IRL for a more lucrative deal in NASCAR. He’s become something on a mentor to Patrick, who visited his racing shop and had a chance to talk with him further at sponsor appearances.
Danica Patrick on Career Plan: “I’ll let you know when I make a decision,”
“She’s looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘Hey, this is what I want to do. It looks like fun. It looks like a lot of work, but it looks like fun,”’ Stewart said. USA Today
With Patrick’s new deal, she has three more cracks at winning the Indy 500.
And by remaining an IndyCar driver, the series can breathe a sigh of relief.
While Patrick’s new deal will allow her to compete in a limited number of NASCAR lower division races, such as ARCA, Camping World Truck Series and Nationwide Series, she has not committed to anything.
“As I’ve said, NASCAR is something that interests me,” Patrick said on Sept. 19. “That’s not a different answer and that’s not a different idea so I don’t know why people are making a big deal about it. Tony Stewart gave me a lot of advice. I’m a ball of questions and I’ve known him for a long, long time. I also had a chance to congratulate him on the success this year as an owner/driver.”
Stewart, an owner/driver in Sprint Cup, has said he has “no plans” on running Patrick. But she could be in line to run with either Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Hendrick Motorsports as part of the JR Motorsports Nationwide Series entry, which is sponsored by GoDaddy.com—one of Patrick’s major backers.
GoDaddy.com signed a two-year deal with Sprint Cup driver Mark Martin last week to support the No. 5 Chevrolet at Hendrick Motorsports, opening the possibility of Patrick replacing Martin when he retires if she shows enough promise on the NASCAR side by the time her IndyCar deal is up. SI.com
Danica Patrick on Career Plan: “I’ll let you know when I make a decision,”
