Don’t look for Danica Patrick to make her first NASCAR Nationwide Series start in the #5 JR Motorsports car at Phoenix International Raceway in two weeks, according to NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick. When asked before Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at Talladega if Patrick, who has signed to stay in the IndyCar Series with team owner Michael Andretti, would make her first NASCAR start near her Scottsdale, Ariz., home, his answer was short and simple. “No,” Hendrick said. “That’s not going to happen.”
According to sources within the NASCAR garage area, Patrick’s asking price to compete in Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series races is $300,000 per race. If she were to run a truck race and a Nationwide race on the same weekend, the price is $600,000. Even with the sheer amount of publicity that Patrick would bring to NASCAR, team owners don’t appear interested in paying that price.(Sports Illustrated)(11-4-2009)
UPDATE: IndyCar Series and crossover media star Danica Patrick is nearing completion of a two-year contract with JR Motorsports, the NASCAR Nationwide Series operation owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., and a source close to the negotiations described them as “in the final phase.” A second source close to the situation confirmed the deal is moving forward, saying “talks are moving in a very positive direction and it would probably be a surprise if it didn’t happen.” The partnership is expected to make its on-track debut during next February’s Daytona Speedweeks, with Patrick’s first action coming in the ARCA race. Patrick, the 2005 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year and the first woman to win an IndyCar Series race, will compete in NASCAR’s second-largest series for JR Motorsports while continuing to race full-time for Andretti Green Racing in IndyCar.(ESPN.com)(11-4-2009)
