DOVER, Del. – Seventeen days after announcing her departure from Stewart-Haas Racing at season’s end, Danica Patrick has no concrete plans for her future in racing.
For the time being, she’s leaving those matters to her ‘people’.
“Yeah, I’ve had some (discussions), but not a ton,” Patrick said on Friday at Dover International Speedway, where she is driving the No. 10 Warriors in Pink Ford to mark Breast Cancer Awareness month.
“As I’ve said for a good while now, I let business people in my business handle that and have those conversations and figure out what options are out there, and I’m going to let them do that.”
In her fifth full season of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series racing, Patrick has posted seven top 10s in 182 starts, with her best finish a sixth at Atlanta in 2014. She considers her pole-winning run for the 2013 Daytona 500 the obvious highlight of her stock car racing career.
“That one will be the biggest one that will stand out,” Patrick acknowledged. “There have been lots of little races along the way that I have felt have been much more difficult and much more representative of the hard work that I’ve put into the sport. But those don’t stand out because those weren’t wins or top fives.
“But top 10s and things like that and some runs that I’ve had have meant more to me. I definitely think pulling back a little further than individual events is the inspiration that you’ve been told you bring to people, especially to kids. That’s a role that you can’t buy your way into. You have to earn that… That’s probably the most meaningful.”
Patrick says she isn’t likely to return to IndyCar but won’t rule it out completely.
“I’m not planning on anything, going back to IndyCar,” said the 35-year-old driver. “Never say never, as I’ve said for many years, because I’m getting so old, and I know things can change.
“My life changes in ways that I wouldn’t expect it every couple of years. You just can’t cross off anything on the list completely.”
SHORT STROKES
Led by three-time Dover winner Matt Kenseth at 162.550 mph, Playoff drivers claimed the first nine positions on the speed chart in opening Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at the Monster Mile. In his final season at Joe Gibbs Racing, Kenseth is still looking for a ride for 2018…
For the first time in the Playoffs, but to the surprise of no one, Jimmie Johnson showed up with some speed, posting the third fastest lap (162.023 mph) in opening practice behind Kenseth and Kyle Larson. The seven-time series champion hopes to add to his record 11 victories at the one-mile concrete track.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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