Danica Patrick in 2012: Penske or Ganassi

Danica Patrick has had a dream of winning the Indianapolis 500 since she was a little girl. She is also a very smart businesswoman who knows the real money in racing is in Nascar. Both her driving contracts, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. in Nascar and Michael Andretti in Indy Car, are up at the end of the 2011 season. She will almost certainly want to sign with a team that has ties to both series. That would mean either Penske or Gnassi.

The Indy 500 is the most important thing in Danica Patrick's life. She not only wants to win the historic race, she expects too. She has led in the late stages, in the past, and probably feels she should have won the race already. The fact she has not won will almost certainly determine who she ends up driving for in 2012.

While Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s JR Motorsports was the first team to take a chance on the popular female driver, the team has limited options. They are basically a part-time Nascar Nationwide team, affiliated with Hendrick Motorsports. They cannot offer her the opportunity to progress to Sprint Cup, and definitely no chance at supplying a car for the Indy 500. Should Danica even had won her dream race, the chances of her resigning with JR Motorsports seem slim at best. There just doesn't seem to be enough room for growth with Dale Jr.'s team.

The two teams that make the most sense for Danica are Penske Racing and Ganassi Racing. Both organizations have race teams in Nascar and the Indy Racing League. A very important fact to Danica is that both teams not only have Sprint Cup teams, but also Nationwide. This would give her the ability to spend a full year in the Nationwide series, learning the tracks and cars even more before she attempted to move up to Cup. Both teams also can provide her with a quality ride for the Indy 500. In fact a Penske or Ganassi car would give her a better chance at her dream than any of her past attempts.

Penske Racing is always the team to beat when you come to Indianapolis. Team owner Roger Penske's history at the Brickyard is unparalled. Danica would certainly love to drive a Penske owned car in "The 500". She most likely would love to drive a Nationwide car for the team. Current Sprint Cup driver Brad Keslowski is always a threat to win when he drives in the Nationwide Series for the team. Something, again, Danica would relish. They also only currently run two cars in the Sprint Cup Series, the Miller Lite Dodge of Keselowski and the Shell/Pennzoil Dodge for Kurt Busch. This gives them the ability to add another team on the Cup level should they choose to in the future.

Chip Ganassi is certainly the other owner of choice for Danica. While he doesn't have the long history at Indianapolis of Penske, his cars are always the biggest threat to Penske, not only for the Indy 500, but also the season long points title. As part owner of Earnhardt/Ganassi Racing, he currently doesn't have any cars competing regularly on the Nationwide Series, however, he has run cars there in the past and could put together a quality ride in a short amount of time. Much like Penske, he too only has two cars currently competing in the Sprint Cup Series, Jamie McMurray in the Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet and Juan Pablo Montoya in the Target Chevrolet. When Danica was ready to move up to Sprint Cup they would be allowed to add another team.

Danica Patrick will certainly have her choice of where she wants to drive in 2012. Her popularity and sponsorship she brings with her, truly puts the ball in her court. She will most likely have her choice of not only the series she drives in, but also for which owner. That owner will be the one who not only gives her the best shot at competing in the top level of Nascar, but also at realizing her dream, an Indy 500 win. This is a situation where she can only win. Penske, Ganassi, and Patrick, there are no losers in that bunch.