Patrick’s future at SHR up in air
Danica Patrick wants to remain with StewartHaas Racing, but understands that GoDaddy’s upcoming departure as her primary sponsor has put her future with the team in doubt.
GoDaddy will leave NASCAR at the end of the season and Patrick, who is in the final year of her contract with SHR, said the team and her management group are actively searching for a replacement.
Patrick, one of the few drivers who transcends auto racing, said Friday she knows she needs to keep her options open. She has driven for SHR since 2012, when team co-owner Tony Stewart put her in a limited 10-race Sprint Cup Series schedule.
“I really am happy at Stewart-Haas, and they’re working hard already to find someone for the new primary position,” Patrick said at Talladega Superspeedway, where she’s preparing for Sunday’s race.
“My team is working to find someone for the new primary position. At this point in time, we’re moving forward with all those intentions. I guess it is on some levels open-season in a lot of areas. You never say never, of course, but I am happy where I’m at right now.”
Patrick said she hasn’t talked to Stewart about the situation yet.
Harvick weighs in
If Kevin Harvick ran NASCAR, he has decided ideas on how to move the sport forward. The reigning Sprint Cup champion would shake up the current 38-race schedule, which remains largely intact each year with no new tracks added and very little race date variation. Although he praised the current racing product and noted races at the end of last season either sold out or were nearly sold out, Harvick said the current schedule is “stagnant” and fans want more short tracks and road courses in the mix. Harvick wants Iowa Speedway put on the Cup schedule, and rattled off a list of road courses that would make good venues. He also supported the idea of visiting one random track a year.
Crew chief toughs it out
Tony Gibson didn’t get to celebrate his victory with Kurt Busch very much. Soreness from a passed kidney stone concerned him enough to visit a doctor just two days after their win at Richmond. Tests Tuesday discovered the crew chief had never passed the kidney stone that sidelined Gibson for the April 19 race at Bristol. Gibson was brought back in Wednesday for a procedure to remove the stone, and a stent was inserted from his bladder to his kidney. One day later, Gibson was on the SHR plane flying to Talladega for Sunday’s race. Gibson said he was sore, but would rather be feeling poorly at the track than sitting at home.