NASCAR and IndyCar Series team owner Chip Ganassi confirmed he is interested in fielding a car for Danica Patrick in the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500 and has spoken with her and her representatives about the possibility.
Danica Patrick meets with Chip Ganassi Racing about running Daytona 500, Indy 500 in 2018
Ganassi could field competitive cars for Patrick at both Daytona and Indianapolis.
Ganassi met with Patrick and her representatives twice over the past two days, but the parties are not close to a deal, Ganassi told a group of reporters at Homestead-Miami Speedway, site of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series season finale.
“I have talked to her and her representatives,” Ganassi told a small group of reporters Friday night. “I think it’s a fabulous idea, a fabulous marketing idea. It’s a fabulous opportunity.
“I just learned about all this yesterday. I’m a long way from saying I can do it. They were talking about one (of the two races) or both. … I need to know more. I need to talk to my people. There are a lot of moving parts.”
Patrick, who’s raced NASCAR full-time since 2012 and raced IndyCar from 2005-11, announced in an emotional press conference earlier Friday that she would not race full-time beyond the 2017 season, stating that the two biggest races in North America would be her final time driving competitively before she retired.
The 35-year-old is the only female driver to lead laps in both the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500 and holds the highest finishing position for a female driver in each race. She finished eighth at Daytona in 2013 and third at Indianapolis in 2009.
“I don’t feel like today that I’m a worse driver that I was when I drove Indy cars,” Patrick said. “Hopefully I’m a better driver. It will take a little bit of acclimating but I think we’ll cross that bridge when we get a little bit closer. Hopefully there is a fair amount time before that. I would like to get into a car before I get to Indy.”
Chip Ganassi Racing would be an ideal spot for Patrick, as the team could provide her competitive equipment in both events. Patrick has said she would only consider a team that would allow to contend. And signing with a team that competes in both series would be beneficial, helping her gain some familiarity with the organization, Ganassi believed.
“That’s for her to decide,” he said. “I don’t know. I’m not the one doing it, she is. I would think it would be better to do it with one team.”
The car owner, who’s won the Indianapolis 500 four times and the Daytona 500 once, said he was open to fielding a car for Patrick in one or both races — provided the details could be worked out. Ganassi, however, would not comment whether Patrick would also bring sponsorship to facilitate a deal.
“I don’t talk about that kind of stuff and who brings what,” Ganassi said.
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