{"id":14081,"date":"2017-11-17T20:33:41","date_gmt":"2017-11-18T02:33:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=14081"},"modified":"2017-11-17T20:33:41","modified_gmt":"2017-11-18T02:33:41","slug":"danica-patrick-to-end-racing-career-with-daytona-500-indy-500-runs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2017\/11\/17\/danica-patrick-to-end-racing-career-with-daytona-500-indy-500-runs\/","title":{"rendered":"Danica Patrick to end racing career with Daytona 500, Indy 500 runs"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Danica Patrick<\/strong> said good-bye to racing during a tearful press conference on Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway\u2014but it will be a long good-bye.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 Aspen Dental Ford, speaks during a press conference announcing her retirement from full-time racing at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 17, 2017 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThis will be my final season as a full-time driver,\u201d Patrick said between sobs, before revealing plans to finish her career by running two more races in 2018, the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500.<\/p>\n

Though Patrick said details had not been finalized for either race, she indicated negotiations on both fronts have been under way for some time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re down the line with different facets of moving forward, but nothing\u2019s final yet,\u201d Patrick said. \u201cHopefully, it will be soon, but things are definitely not set.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patrick announced recently she would exit her ride in the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford at the end of the season, citing lack of sponsorship. Aric Almirola will replace her in the car next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like this is where my life should be headed, and sometimes we just get nudged there,\u201d Patrick said. \u201cSometimes it\u2019s big nudges, and sometimes it\u2019s little. But I definitely was faced with situations at the beginning of the year that I\u2019d never faced before. I never had sponsor issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it made me think about things. And I\u2019m excited about the next phase, trust me.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s appropriate that the Daytona 500 will be Patrick\u2019s last race in a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series car, given that Daytona is the site of her foremost accomplishment in the series. Patrick won the Coors Light Pole Award for the 2013 version of the Great American Race, the only pole of her Cup career.<\/p>\n

She has posted seven top-10 finishes in 189 career Cup starts entering Sunday\u2019s Ford Eco-Boost 400 (on NBC at 3 p.m. ET) at Homestead, with a best result of sixth at Atlanta in 2014.<\/p>\n

But Patrick grew frustrated with her inability to find the speed necessary to compete with the elite drivers of the sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s super competitive,\u201d Patrick said. \u201cIt\u2019s twice the field of IndyCars, 40 instead of 20, basically. The cars make a big difference. I feel like there\u2019s a lot out of your control as a driver, and that\u2019s frustrating. I tried every approach I could to figure out how to make the car go fast.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo I push people? Do I let them do their job? Do I question them? Do I ask for other things? I tried every approach, and, really, all that ended up happening was I lost my crew chief the first time around with Tony Gibson. I didn\u2019t end up wanting that to happen. So I was like \u2018Well, shoot, nothing really worked.\u2019 So here I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

Danica Patrick interview:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Danica Patrick said good-bye to racing during a tearful press conference on Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway\u2014but it will be a long good-bye. \u201cThis will be my final season as a full-time driver,\u201d Patrick said between sobs, before revealing plans to finish her career by running two more<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14090,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[411,16],"class_list":["post-14081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-danica-patrick","tag-nascar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-3F7","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14585,"url":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2018\/02\/10\/danica-patrick-is-all-systems-godaddy-for-the-great-american-race\/","url_meta":{"origin":14081,"position":0},"title":"Danica Patrick is all systems Go(Daddy) for the Great American Race","author":"Mike Haag","date":"February 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. \u2013 Dressed simply in blue jeans and a black polo shirt with a GoDaddy-green sponsor patch, Danica Patrick addressed the assembled NASCAR media Friday morning \u2013 one of the last times she will do so as a professional race car driver.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "NASCAR"","block_context":{"text":"NASCAR","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/category\/nascar\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Patrick-2018MENCS-CarShot.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Patrick-2018MENCS-CarShot.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Patrick-2018MENCS-CarShot.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Patrick-2018MENCS-CarShot.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Patrick-2018MENCS-CarShot.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14211,"url":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2017\/11\/19\/nascar-sunday-homestead-notebook\/","url_meta":{"origin":14081,"position":1},"title":"NASCAR: Sunday Homestead Notebook","author":"Mike Haag","date":"November 19, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"By Reid Spencer,\u00a0NASCAR Wire Service Deteriorating handling dooms Kevin Harvick's title shot HOMESTEAD, Fla. \u2013 Before the shadows crept over Turns 1 and 2 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kevin Harvick had a car capable of challenging fellow title contenders Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski. In the early stages\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "NASCAR"","block_context":{"text":"NASCAR","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/category\/nascar\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/hms_mencs_car3_111917.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/hms_mencs_car3_111917.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/hms_mencs_car3_111917.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/hms_mencs_car3_111917.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/hms_mencs_car3_111917.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13497,"url":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2017\/10\/28\/aaa-texas-500-race-could-be-danica-patricks-last-race-at-texas-motor-speedway\/","url_meta":{"origin":14081,"position":2},"title":"AAA Texas 500 race could be Danica Patrick\u2019s last race at Texas Motor Speedway","author":"Mike Haag","date":"October 28, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"FORT WORTH, Texas \u2013 While the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series winds down to the last three races of the 2018 season, NASCAR\u2019s current female driver Danica Patrick just might be competing in her last-ever race at Texas Motor Speedway next Sunday at the AAA Texas 500. Patrick, who drives\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "NASCAR"","block_context":{"text":"NASCAR","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/category\/nascar\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/CS-NSCS-DanicaAspen-091815.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/CS-NSCS-DanicaAspen-091815.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/CS-NSCS-DanicaAspen-091815.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/CS-NSCS-DanicaAspen-091815.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/CS-NSCS-DanicaAspen-091815.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14437,"url":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/22\/danica-patrick-announces-full-plan-for-final-nascar-start\/","url_meta":{"origin":14081,"position":3},"title":"Danica Patrick announces full plan for final NASCAR start","author":"Mike Haag","date":"January 22, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"By Holly Cain,\u00a0NASCAR Wire Service Only four days after confirming that her longtime sponsor GoDaddy would sponsor her final Daytona 500 attempt next month, Danica Patrick announced Monday she will make that last NASCAR start driving the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro with Premium Motorsports. The team will be led by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "NASCAR"","block_context":{"text":"NASCAR","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/category\/nascar\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/HMS-MENCS-Danica-Patrick-111717.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/HMS-MENCS-Danica-Patrick-111717.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/HMS-MENCS-Danica-Patrick-111717.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/HMS-MENCS-Danica-Patrick-111717.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/HMS-MENCS-Danica-Patrick-111717.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14384,"url":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/18\/danica-patrick-and-godaddy-reunion-a-perfect-sendoff\/","url_meta":{"origin":14081,"position":4},"title":"Danica Patrick and GoDaddy reunion a perfect sendoff","author":"Mike Haag","date":"January 18, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"By Holly Cain,\u00a0NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -\u00a0Regarding it as \u201cthe ultimate fit,\u201d Danica Patrick announced Thursday that GoDaddy would be sponsoring her cars in the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500 this year \u2013 the \u201cDanica Double\u201d sendoff to her historic career competing in big time auto racing.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "NASCAR"","block_context":{"text":"NASCAR","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/category\/nascar\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/PS-NSCS-DP-060615.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/PS-NSCS-DP-060615.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/PS-NSCS-DP-060615.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/PS-NSCS-DP-060615.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/PS-NSCS-DP-060615.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14100,"url":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2017\/11\/17\/ganassi-team-danica-discuss-possibilities-for-2018-partnership\/","url_meta":{"origin":14081,"position":5},"title":"Ganassi, Team Danica discuss possibilities for 2018 partnership","author":"Mike Haag","date":"November 17, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"By Brant James,\u00a0NASCAR Wire Service HOMESTEAD, Fla. - Team owner Chip Ganassi spoke personally with Danica Patrick and her representatives Thursday and Friday about the possibility of fielding cars for her in either the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500, or both, but said he doesn\u2019t yet have enough information to determine\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "NASCAR"","block_context":{"text":"NASCAR","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/category\/nascar\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/MENCS-LVMS-DPatrick-03102017.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/MENCS-LVMS-DPatrick-03102017.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/MENCS-LVMS-DPatrick-03102017.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/MENCS-LVMS-DPatrick-03102017.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/MENCS-LVMS-DPatrick-03102017.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/hms_mencs_danica_patrick_111717.jpg?fit=5184%2C3456","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14081"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14081\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14091,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14081\/revisions\/14091"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}