Danica Patrick officially heads to NASCAR
Danica Patrick is packing her driving suits and making the move from IndyCar to NASCAR.
Danica Patrick displays the car that she will drive full-time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series circuit and select Sprint Cup races during an auto racing news conference Thursday, in Scottsdale, Ariz. After months of skirting speculation, Patrick announced that she's leaving IndyCar in 2012 to run a full Nationwide schedule with JR Motorsports and up to 10 Sprint Cup races for Stewart-Haas Racing.
Paul Connors/AP
IndyCar driver Danica Patrick is officially headed to NASCAR.
After months of skirting speculation, Patrick announced on Thursday that she's leaving IndyCar in 2012 to run a full second-tier Nationwide schedule with JR Motorsports and up to 10 Sprint Cup races for Stewart-Haas Racing.
One of American auto racing's most marketable stars, Patrick says she hasn't mapped out which races she'll run in Sprint Cup and didn't rule out a return to open-wheel racing for the 2012 Indianapolis 500.
Patrick had her highest finish at the Indy 500 when she took third in the 2009 race and became the first woman to win an IndyCar race at Japan in 2008.
She has driven 20 races for JR Motorsports in the past two years and has five more scheduled with the team this season.