Danica Patrick uncertain about NASCAR future, doesn’t rule out return to IndyCar

Danica Patrick is leaving Stewart-Haas Racing at the end of the season and doesn’t have a NASCAR ride lined up for 2018, so is a return to the IndyCar Series a possibility for the woman who nearly won the Indianapolis 500?

Patrick said she doesn’t have anything in the works and isn’t planning on returning to open-wheel racing, though wouldn’t rule out the possibility when asked Friday at Dover International Speedway, site of Sunday’s Cup Series race. She raced in the IndyCar Series from 2005 through 2011 before switching to NASCAR fulltime in 2012. She is the only female driver to win an IndyCar race and her third-place finish in the Indianapolis 500 represents the best ever for a female driver.

“I’m not planning on anything, going back to IndyCar,” Patrick said. “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.”

Patrick announced Sept. 12 that she would SHR at the end of the current season due to a lack of sponsorship. She has said she would only continue competing in NASCAR if he could secure a spot with a competitive team.

SHR and Patrick have had difficulty attracting sponsorship for her No. 10 team since Nature’s Bakery abruptly discontinued its primary sponsorship of Patrick’s team in January, just weeks before the start of the season. SHR, co-owned by Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, recently signed Smithfield Foods to sponsor one of its four cars and is expected to sign Aric Almirola away from Richard Petty Motorsports to replace Patrick.

“I’ve had some but not a ton,” Patrick said of talking with other teams about potential opportunities. “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.”

Patrick has seven top-10 finishes in 182 Cup Series starts, posting a best result of sixth. She won the Daytona 500 pole in 2013, the first female to do so in NASCAR’s premier division. That moment the 35-year-old said one was one of the highlights of her NASCAR career.

“The one that will stand out is qualifying on the pole for the Daytona 500, as the media results of that were something like winning the fourth biggest race of the year, even though it’s just for qualifying,” Patrick said. “That one will be the biggest one that will stand out.

“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. You just can’t stumble onto that, especially having been around a long time now. That’s probably the most meaningful.”