Danica Patrick, who has finished higher in the Indianapolis 500 than any other woman, will skip that race this season and instead drive in NASCAR's longest Sprint Cup race, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Patrick said Monday that she has added the Coca-Cola 600 to her schedule. She'll drive for Stewart-Haas Racing, and team owner Tony Stewart said that the decision to sit out the Indianapolis 500 was Patrick's.
"We didn't tell her she couldn't run the 500. It was left up to her," Stewart said. "It shows how dedicated she is to making this transition."
Patrick has left the IndyCar Series for a fulltime move to NASCAR. She will run the Nationwide Series for JR Motorsports, and 10 Cup races for Stewart. She previously had announced eight Cup races, and the Coca-Cola 600 is her ninth announced race.
She jokingly called the race "The Coke 6,000. It's quite long, I've been told," and said she's not ready to rule out the Indianapolis 500 forever.
"I hope to do it in the future, the Indy 500 that is, and maybe it will be a double," she said. "But at this point in time, after a lot of conversations, it's just going to be the Coke 600, and I think it's going to be a big challenge. It's just is something that didn't work out, as far as the business-side of things. I am hopeful to do it in the future, but for this year, it just didn't happen."
Patrick led 19 laps and finished fourth in the Indy 500 as a rookie in 2005. She finished third in 2009.
The Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 are both scheduled May 27.
Stewart, Robby Gordon and John Andretti have all tried to run both races on the same day. Stewart completed the double twice: In 1999, he was ninth at Indy and fourth at Charlotte; in 2001, he was sixth at Indy and third at Charlotte.
Stewart has not tried Indianapolis since and has let go of his childhood dream of winning the 500. He has twice won the Brickyard 400, NASCAR's Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Stewart said as long as Indianapolis Motor Speedway makes it logistically possible for Patrick to try both races, she eventually might run Indy again. He said he has no interest in fielding a car for her, citing how much he already is doing with his other teams.
Patrick has set some expectations for NASCAR, and she sounded Monday as if she expects her debut in the Daytona 500 next month to go as well as her debut in the Indianapolis 500. She tested at Daytona two weeks ago with new crew chief Greg Zipadelli, and after leading 13 laps at Daytona in last July's Nationwide race, she likes her chances in the Feb. 26 season opener.
"I think it's a real chance," she said. "I mean a guy like (rookie) Trevor Bayne last year showed that. Those are the expectations for the first race."
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement