SPEED.com open wheel reporter Robin Miller joined Steve Byrnes on NASCAR Race Hub on SPEED Thursday evening to discuss Danica Patrick and Andretti Autosport among other things. Following is the transcript in part from the interview;
On whether rumors are true that Danica Patrick is headed to NASCAR fulltime:
Miller: “We’ve been saying for six months that she’s gone. I don’t think anyone in IndyCar thinks that she’s going to be around. I think everyone is resigned to the fact that IMG is going to take her to NASCAR. Where she lands in NASCAR, I think that’s what is going to be interesting. Tony Stewart lately has been saying, ‘I’d really like to see her come here. She’s got a lot of potential.’ I think that potential might be assigned to that GoDaddy paycheck, which is pretty big.”(SPEED)(6-17-2011)
Danica Patrick is sticking with IMG in the wake of agent Mark Steinberg’s split with the sports management giant. And though Patrick hasn’t made a decision on the future of her racing career, she says her agents officially are free to listen to offers. Many racing contracts contain clauses that prohibit drivers from negotiating new deals with rival teams until a specific date, but Patrick said she’s under no such restrictions. “That’s open,” Patrick said Friday at the Milwaukee Mile. “My agents are working.” She is showing steady improvement in NASCAR’s Nationwide Series and is considering a full-time move from IndyCar to NASCAR. But she might be able to pull off a deal that also would allow her to run in the Indianapolis 500 — a race she still desperately wants to win.(Associated Press/ESPN.com)(6-18-2011)
