Danica Patrick said Tuesday she will not announce a decision on her future plans until after the IndyCar Series season ends. The final IndyCar race for 2009 is Oct. 10 in Homestead, Fla.
Many people have speculated that she might make the move to NASCAR. Patrick says she’s open to all possibilities at this point.
IMG president George Pyne is the former chief operating officer of NASCAR. Patrick was asked if Pyne is pushing her toward NASCAR.
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So what are Patrick’s goals?
“The most important thing is to put myself in a situation where I can win as many races as possible and run up front and be competitive,” she said. “There’s also the brand side. Just being able to make the most or it as an athlete and endorser of products by gaining exposure, and in due time, exploring things outside of racing.” ESPN
So NASCAR has become hockey. Actually, that’s not fair to the NHL. At least no one’s trying to take away its sticks.
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Auto icon General Motors, mired in its own economic hell, announced recently that it would cut funding at all levels of NASCAR, forcing key teams, including Dale Earnhardt Jr.‘s Nationwide team, to trim their budgets and, like the rest of us, make do with less.
Patrick may be the second-biggest star in auto racing. But like No. 1 – Earnhardt – her star status has less to do with her skills behind the wheel than her, uh, other assets. Much has been made of the fact that she has not won a race in the U.S., but she stands fifth in IndyCar Series points. Clearly, she can race.
But if the sport thinks the diminutive driver will get it back on track, well, that’s wrong-headed. Danica Patrick isn’t NASCAR’s savior, not even if she drives in a swimsuit.
Her presence in open-wheel racing shed new light on a sport that was pretty much known for one race – the Indy 500 – before she came along. But how many other races can you name? How often have you tuned in to watch Patrick race? Yahoo! Sports
Underneath all that glitter and glamour, Patrick is loaded with business acumen that has guided her well over the past five years in major league racing.
She—and her agents at IMG—want to strike while the iron is hot and right now she’s smoking hot. With her public profile and her results this season, the kind of money she can demand going into next season just doesn’t exist in IndyCar racing.
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In a conference call this week Patrick pleaded that she and her team are “looking at all of our options.”
“Right now I’m talking to my representatives and gathering all the information we can to make the right decision,” she said. Edmonton Sun
“NASCAR has so many viewers and so many partners. There are lots of options inside and outside the car. So there’s reasons [why drivers make the move]. And it looks like fun,” Patrick said.
“It’s kind of like the Indy 500 every weekend. That’s a lot of fun as a driver to be part of something important, and something people want to watch.”
“I just want to know what my options are and who’s really serious ... We’re just collecting information at this point,” she continued. “The most important thing is to put myself in a situation where I can win as many races as possible and run up front and be in that competitive situation.”
“After that, there has to be thoughts to the brand side and being able to make the most of myself as an athlete and as an endorser of products and ... gaining exposure so that in due time I’m able to explore other things outside of racing.”
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“I hope to have a good Christmas and know what I’m doing next year. That would be the worst case scenario,” she said. “I want to do well this year. I want to do well in the series. I want to finish as high as possible. I want to win as many races as I can, so I don’t want to do anything that would take away from that.” National Post
