FEEDSIt’s Official – Danica Patrick Is Joining The NASCAR Ranks With JR Motorsports
I think it has been pretty obvious for awhile now that Danica Patrick was coming to NASCAR. And even recently the headlines have been swarming on this subject.
I have still been very busy moving in and getting settled into our new house and I have still been able to see all the headlines lately.
Danica confirmed today that she will be racing the No. 7 Motorsports Chevrolet in a limited number of NASCAR Series races in 2010, with sponsorship from GoDaddy.com and Tony Eury Jr. serving as crew chief.
“It has been a long time coming, but the stars finally aligned for me with GoDaddy and JRM,” Patrick said in a news release just before making her announcement. “I have always said I love to drive, and if I could make it work to race in both IndyCar and NASCAR – with the right sponsor, like GoDaddy.com and the right team, like JRM – then I’d love to drive in NASCAR.”
“We’re not 100 percent sure of all the details right now, but the primary focus is going to be before and after the IndyCar season,” said Patrick.
“We’re going to feel it out. Initially, it’s going to be a challenge … there’s no necessary time frame on that. We’re just going to hit the ground running and do the best we can.”
Patrick competes full time in the Izod IndyCar Series for Andretti Autosport.
Patrick plans to debut with the team in the Automobile Racing Club of America Series at Daytona.
She will participate in an ARCA test Dec. 18-20 at Daytona International Speedway and will likely need to participate in the ARCA race to be eligible to compete in the Nationwide Series event at the track in February.
It is also being report and I have speculated right here in the past that I think this is setting up a possibly Danica Patrick and Mark Martin switch down the road. It really only makes sense, to me at least. I personally think Hendrick will regret that decision, but who knows.
And I could be really wrong, maybe she will prove herself in ARCA and Nationwide races.
“As a female team owner, I’m very excited to have her on board,” said JR Motorsports co-owner Kelley Earnhardt, who added that she hoped Patrick could be a top-15 driver.
“One of the things JRM has to offer is proven NASCAR experience,” JRM General Manager Kelley Earnhardt said in the release. “This is a team sport, and our team will help Danica get up to speed quickly. She’s slated to begin working with our crew starting with the upcoming ARCA tests.”
“She should stay where she is,” Janet Guthrie, the first woman to reach the top level of open wheel racing and NASCAR in the 1970s, told the New York Times earlier this year. “She is in the best possible situation in the IRL, in the catbird seat with one of the few teams [Andretti Autosport] that is capable of winning.”
“Danica, I think she’s got the talent and everything but I don’t think she knows what she’s getting into,” Juan Pablo Montoya said in September.
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I think this is great. She will bring a new breed of fans I would think.
It should be interesting to see. Hopefully it is the right decision for her.
I am personally not a big fan of hers. But I also think it will be interesting to see how this all pans out for her. Of course She hasn’t come over full time yet and maybe she won’t. I think this will give her a pretty good taste over the next couple of years to see if she does want to make a move.