TeamBlueOval
04-01-2010, 01:26 PM
Rumors are swirling in the NASCAR garage that Danica Patrick has signed on to go full time in the Sprint Cup Series in 2011. The decision to move the IndyCar star up into NASCAR's top series next season comes after she has made only four stock car starts in her brief career.
Danica started the ARCA Series presented by Re/Max and Menards opener at Daytona, racing to a top-10 finish. After that, she raced in the Nationwide Series at Daytona, Fontana, and Las Vegas, with an average finish of 34th. She will start a total of 13 races this season in the NASCAR Nationwide Series before making the move to Sprint Cup racing.
There are still major questions surrounding the deal, however. According to rumors, Danica will run for Hendrick Motorsports, a powerhouse team in the NASCAR garage. That team cannot expand to a fifth car, though, because of NASCAR's four car limit. Sources close to the situation, speaking on the condition of anonymity, say that Patrick could land in the 88 Chevrolet, the ride currently held by NASCAR's most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Earnhardt, Jr and the 88 team have not performed up to the standards of Hendrick Motorsports, however, and sources have said that Hendrick is looking for a way to keep both Earnhardt and Danica on his team.
The other question is sponsorship. Danica's IndyCar sponsor, GoDaddy.com, has a 2-year deal with Mark Martin and the 5 team that goes through the end of the 2011 season. It is possible that GoDaddy.com could sponsor both drivers, and Danica could secure sponsorship from a different company. Finally, earlier this season, Patrick signed a 3-year contract extension to continue to race in the Izod IndyCar Series. Sources have confirmed that Rick Hendrick is in the process of buying out the remaining two years of that deal in order to finalize the agreement that would bring Patrick to Sprint Cup in 2011.
No word on who Earnhardt will drive for in 2011 if this deal indeed comes to fruition. Rumors indicate that Richard Childress Racing and Stewart Haas Racing are two options for the multiple-time most popular driver who has been winless for nearly 2 full seasons.
(Source (http://www.cubiccapacity.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/april_fool_graphics_05.gif))
Danica started the ARCA Series presented by Re/Max and Menards opener at Daytona, racing to a top-10 finish. After that, she raced in the Nationwide Series at Daytona, Fontana, and Las Vegas, with an average finish of 34th. She will start a total of 13 races this season in the NASCAR Nationwide Series before making the move to Sprint Cup racing.
There are still major questions surrounding the deal, however. According to rumors, Danica will run for Hendrick Motorsports, a powerhouse team in the NASCAR garage. That team cannot expand to a fifth car, though, because of NASCAR's four car limit. Sources close to the situation, speaking on the condition of anonymity, say that Patrick could land in the 88 Chevrolet, the ride currently held by NASCAR's most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Earnhardt, Jr and the 88 team have not performed up to the standards of Hendrick Motorsports, however, and sources have said that Hendrick is looking for a way to keep both Earnhardt and Danica on his team.
The other question is sponsorship. Danica's IndyCar sponsor, GoDaddy.com, has a 2-year deal with Mark Martin and the 5 team that goes through the end of the 2011 season. It is possible that GoDaddy.com could sponsor both drivers, and Danica could secure sponsorship from a different company. Finally, earlier this season, Patrick signed a 3-year contract extension to continue to race in the Izod IndyCar Series. Sources have confirmed that Rick Hendrick is in the process of buying out the remaining two years of that deal in order to finalize the agreement that would bring Patrick to Sprint Cup in 2011.
No word on who Earnhardt will drive for in 2011 if this deal indeed comes to fruition. Rumors indicate that Richard Childress Racing and Stewart Haas Racing are two options for the multiple-time most popular driver who has been winless for nearly 2 full seasons.
(Source (http://www.cubiccapacity.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/april_fool_graphics_05.gif))