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Latest on Danica…to NASCAR in 2012: UPDATES – Official Announcement:

August 25, 2011 at 12:00 AM

  • Danica Patrick next week will formally announce her intent to move to NASCAR full-time in 2012, multiple sources with knowledge of her contract negotiations told ESPN. Although her contracts are still being finalized, Patrick — who has raced in both the IndyCar Series and the Nationwide series this season and last season — will drive the #7 GoDaddy.com Chevy for the entire 2012 Nationwide Series schedule for JR Motorsports, sources said. She also plans to enter select Sprint Cup races next season in cars prepared by Stewart-Haas Racing, with the intent to move to Sprint Cup full-time in a multiyear deal with Stewart-Haas in 2013, sources said. Patrick is expected to make the announcement in Phoenix, where GoDaddy.com is headquartered, in a news conference currently being arranged, according to sources. JR Motorsports representatives said Wednesday they have “nothing new to report.” It is unknown at this time how this may affect Patrick’s ability to compete in the 2012 Indianapolis 500, sources said.(ESPN)(8-17-2011)
    UPDATE: The news conference that tentatively was scheduled for Wednesday to announce the move of IndyCar Series star Danica Patrick to NASCAR full-time in 2012 has been postponed.Multiple sources said GoDaddy.com, which is planning the official announcement in Phoenix, is optimistic the news conference will be rescheduled for Thursday. Sources told ESPN.com it was postponed because of delays in dealing with multiple parties involved in the process. According to sources, Patrick will drive a full-time Nationwide Series schedule in 2012 for JR Motorsports, for whom she drove part-time this season and last. She also will drive a part-time Sprint Cup schedule for Stewart-Haas Racing, with an eye on a full-time Cup ride there in 2013.(ESPN)(8-24-2011)
    UPDATE 2: Danica Patrick will make her debut in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series in the 2012 Daytona 500. While Patrick does not plan to run a full Cup schedule until 2013, she will do eight to 10 Cup races next year with Stewart-Haas Racing, beginning with the Daytona 500, a source familiar with the announcement said Wednesday night. Patrick will run her Nationwide schedule, as she has the past two seasons, with JR Motorsports and all Cup races will be run out of SHR. GoDaddy.com will sponsor all of Patrick’s NASCAR races, sources said.(Charlotte Observer)
    UPDATE 3: Putting the pedal to the media metal, and with Go Daddy CEO and Founder Bob Parsons at her side  Danica revealed her racing future today. “We can finally put the rumors to rest – I am going full-time NASCAR with Go Daddy next year,” Danica told a crowded Phoenix news conference a few minutes ago. “I am going to race a full Nationwide schedule and limited Sprint Cup schedule in my GoDaddy.com Chevrolet next season.” For the NASCAR Nationwide Series races, she’ll drive with her current stock car team, JR Motorsports, owned by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. In the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Danica will be with Stewart-Haas Racing, co-owned by two-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation. Both series will be financially fueled by Go Daddy, her long-time sponsor who first signed the Go Daddy Girl in 2006.(JR Motorsports)(8-25-2011)
    Statement from NASCAR CEO Brian France: “We are pleased Danica Patrick has chosen to race full time in NASCAR in 2012. She has demonstrated a strong desire to compete and NASCAR provides the best opportunity to race against the top drivers in the world with the largest and most loyal fan base in motorsports on a week-to-week basis. Danica has shown solid improvement in NASCAR and we believe her decision to run full time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, with additional races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, will be exciting for our fans and a great challenge for her.”(NASCAR)(8-25-2011)
    Statement from Tony Stewart: “We’re very excited to have Danica Patrick and Go Daddy join Stewart-Haas Racing in 2012 for a limited NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule with the intention of us running her full-time in Sprint Cup in 2013. We’re proud of the fact she wants to come and be a part of Stewart-Haas Racing and what we’ve built with Ryan Newman and myself and all of our partners. Having Danica and Go Daddy as a combination at SHR is something we’re really looking forward to. The thing you see in Danica right away is how determined she is to be good at what she does. She’s very dedicated to taking the time and effort to make the transition from Indy cars to stock cars. She has talent, she has the right mindset and she has the proper drive and determination. It doesn’t matter who it is you’re looking for, those are the key attributes that you look for in a driver, and Danica’s got them.”(Stewart Hass Racing)(8-25-2011)
    UPDATE 4: Kelley Earnhardt, co-owner and general manager of JR Motorsports, said in a conference call Thursday afternoon, a couple of hours after Patrick had made her announcement that she’ll not only drive full-time for JR Motorsports in Nationwide but also that she’ll drive in eight to 10 Sprint Cup races for Stewart-Haas Racing. Earnhardt said there never really was a chance of JR Motorsports fielding a Cup car for Patrick. “We discussed whether or not that would make sense for everyone involved. And quite frankly, JR Motorsports isn’t ready to bite that bullet,” she said. “We have partners under the JR Motorsports umbrella — like Stewart-Haas Racing — that were interested in adding cars to their fold on the Sprint Cup side. So I think it worked out best for everybody.” Earnhardt also said she understands Patrick’s desire to perhaps race in the Indianapolis 500 next year, but made it clear that she expects Patrick’s top priority — even during the month of May — to be her Nationwide team.(NASCAR.com)(8-25-2011)