Danica Patrick is ready to trade some paint.
Her IndyCar future set for the next three years, Patrick said Tuesday she wants to try her hand at racing in a NASCAR series on a limited basis as soon as 2010.
“If I have a chance to be able to run in both series and try it and challenge myself, I would like to do that,” Patrick said in her first definitive statement on the subject since rumors ran rampant last summer she might jump to NASCAR.
On Monday, Patrick signed a three-year contract extension with Andretti Autosport to continue her IndyCar career, and owner Michael Andretti gave her permission to try stock-car racing as long as it didn’t interfere with the 17-race IndyCar Series.
“I’m curious about NASCAR,” Patrick said on a teleconference. “Curious doesn’t mean I wanted to jump in with both feet. We’ve been working on this and talking to people since the summer. We are serious about this, Whether things come together or not we don’t know. There is no contract, there is no deal right now.”
Most speculation centers on Patrick’s joining JR Motorsports, co-owned by Rick Hendrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr., which would partner motorsports’ two most-marketable and popular drivers, despite their failure to win a race in 2009.
Patrick’s primary sponsor for the 2010 IndyCar season will be GoDaddy.Com, which also will be primary sponsor for Hendrick’s No. 5 Sprint Car driven by Mark Martin and JR Motorsports’ No. 88 Nationwide Series car which has not filled the seat for 2010.
It’s expected Patrick would run some races in the Nationwide Series and even the ARCA Series before trying a Sprint Cup car.
“In all of the talks over the summer and meeting with people, there was a lot of emphasis on learning,” said Patrick, 27. “I’d be very prepared to start small and grow and really learn the cars. So if it would happen, I would be open to all suggestions.”
Patrick emphasized her primary focus was winning the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar Series, so any stock-car racing would have to be done before the open wheel season starts on March 14 and after it ends on Oct. 2, though there are some gaps in the summer schedule to squeeze in a stock car race.
The 2010 NASCAR season begins with Daytona on Feb. 14 and ends at Homestead on Nov. 21, so there would be seven NASCAR weekends after the IndyCar season ends.
“That is something we had to talk about and work out with Andretti Autosport,” said Patrick, who was third in the 2009 Indianapolis 500. “The primary focus is IndyCar and the Indianapolis 500, but in and around there is the opportunity to drive a (stock car) as well.”
She has Michael Andretti’s blessing.
“It’s always a concern,” Andretti said, “but I support her if she wants to try it. First and foremost, she is a race car driver. I’ve been there, you always want to challenge yourself. For her to give it a try, I don’t want to get in her way if she really wants to do that.”
When asked if her interest in NASCAR was a competitive curiosity or a business move, Patrick said it was because NASCAR looked like it would be fun.
“It’s come up in the past, to run NASCAR,” Patrick said, “and my heart wasn’t there, I didn’t want to at all. I wasn’t really curious. Trust me, there were financial reasons why it would have been a much better idea.
“I always thought the most important thing in my career is I go with my gut, and go with what I want and not worry about the rest. Now my curiosity is there, and I’d like to try it and see how I get on with the cars. I think the racing looks fun. I enjoy Indy Car racing through and through, but I mostly enjoy the oval racing.
“When you have wheel-to-wheel racing all day, it’s challenging and stressful but a lot of fun at the same time, and they have a lot of that.”
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