Patrick: Nothing in works for 2018
Driver hasn’t lost hope but seems OK with career legacy.
DOVER, DEL. — Danica Patrick seems at peace with the idea she is facing the final seven races of her NASCAR Cup career and said Friday that other teams have shown little interest in bringing her aboard next season.
She termed the number of discussions “some but not a ton. I let the business people in my business handle that ... and I continue to let them do that.”
Patrick said she has no plans to return to IndyCar, where she won a race and led laps in the Indianapolis 500 before shifting to NASCAR, but did not totally rule it out.
Patrick’ s contract with Stewart-Haas Racing ran through 2018, but she’s out because the team has been unable to find a sponsor since Nature’s Bakery abruptly ended its three-year deal after one season.
Even if Patrick, 35, somehow found a last-minute primary sponsor, rides are scarcefor 2018 and she won’t sign with a team that can’t offer a competitive car. Whereas Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s final season has come with fanfare, Patrick has not received the same in possibly her last season even though she is widely familiar among the public because of her offtrack interests.
Her best finish in 182 career Cup races is sixth, and she sits 28th in the standings headed into Sunday’s race at Dover International Speedway. She finished 24th in points each of the past two years for a team that includes 2014 Cup champion Kevin Harvick and 2017 Daytona 500 champion Kurt Busch.
Of course, Patrick has made more of an impact than most male drivers with a collection of checkered flags.
“The inspiration that you are told that you bring to people, especially to kids,” she said. “That’s a role you can’t buy your way into. You have to earn that. That’s probably the most meaningful.”
Truex wins pole: Martin Truex Jr. will start first Sunday as he tries to earn his sixth victory of the season, which would be two more than the next-best driver, Kyle Larson. Truex turned a lap of 160.664 mph in a Toyota and ended Kyle Busch’s bid at three straight poles. Busch qualified second. The playoff field will be cut from 16 to 12 after the race.