For those who have speculated the GoDaddy Girl may be going somewhere else, think again. Stewart-Haas Racing team owner Gene Haas told Motorsport.com on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway that he’d like to get Danica Patrick’s deal signed “as soon as possible” “ and he expects to do just that. “We expect her to stay with Stewart-Haas Racing,” Haas told Motorsport.com. “We have some very good sponsors that are in the process of signing up. But we knew that. We knew going in that there’s just a lot of demand for her. Let’s face it, she’s the only woman on the whole grid so she’s going to get a lot of press, and that’s what sponsors want to see. We told her we wanted her to come back. She’s been very flexible about everything. It all has to happen at the same time. You can’t really sign a driver until you have a sponsor. You have to know how much money you’re going to get from the sponsor and that kind of translates into the deal you make with the driver. I think it’s all going good.” With Patrick attracting a variety of sponsors, Haas says the hold-up in an announcement is simply dotting i’s and crossing t’s. There has been speculation that categories from the mortgage and restaurant industry could be among the liveries gracing the hood of the #10 Chevy next year. “Personally, I think that’s all just a balance between – we’re probably going to have more than one sponsor and we’re going to have to get them all aligned. We have to work GoDaddy. It’s just a balancing act. Obviously, we’d like to get it done as quickly as possible. I’m sure that, when all the contracts are signed, it will happen within a few weeks.”(Motorsport)(7-27-2015)
UPDATE: On Tuesday, SHR spokesman Mike Arning said in an email to FOXSports.com that the organization is moving toward re-signing Patrick and securing a new primary sponsor for her car in the 2016 season. “Re-signing Danica Patrick remains a priority for Stewart-Haas Racing, and we’re confident an agreement will be formalized soon,” Arning wrote. “Discussions regarding sponsorship for Danica and the No. 10 team are progressing nicely. Our timetable to have her contract and sponsorship in place by the end of the summer is certainly attainable.”(FoxSports)(7-28-2015)
