Dale Earnhardt Jr. says a deal to put Danica Patrick in his Nationwide Series car isn’t imminent, and even if it were, JR Motorsports wouldn’t necessarily have the funding for the IndyCar Series’ most popular driver. Multiple media outlets have reported in recent weeks that Patrick was on the verge of signing with JRM for a part-time Nationwide schedule next season while continuing to run the Indy Racing League. Patrick and JRM share a sponsor in GoDaddy.com, but Earnhardt says it doesn’t make the deal a cinch. “We’ve had a relationship with GoDaddy, so that makes us look like a nice fit, but they’re moving (next year), so we don’t really have it anymore,” Earnhardt said after Sprint Cup practice Friday at Phoenix International Raceway. “We’re having to search around.” JRM’s #88 Chevy currently driven by Brad Keselowski is sponsored by GoDaddy.com, but the company will move to Cup next year to back the #5 Chevy of Mark Martin at Hendrick Motorsports, which has an alliance with JRM. Earnhardt says JRM has only “three-quarters to half a season” of sponsors for the #88 in 2010. “We basically started this summer with nothing for our program,” he said. “I don’t even have that car full, and it’s worrying me, some of the programs we’re trying to talk to just can’t commit. So I’m not sure JR Motorsports will field a full time ride next year at all. Which is OK. “We’ll still be able to keep employing the people who work there, and they’ll go to the racetrack, just not every week. It wouldn’t bother me to skip some of them tracks, anyway.”(USA Today)(11-13-2009)
