Danica Patrick to NASCAR?

Danica Patrick has become the face of open-wheel racing in the United States. She is also arguably racing's most popular star, beside maybe Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. As a racer, how does she differ from these two? She races cars without fenders on them.

Patrick broke into the Indy Racing League (IRL) as a rookie in 2005 and finished fourth in the Indianapolis 500, the best finish ever by a woman in the race. From that race on Patrick's popularity soared but she could not break into the winner's circle. Finally, in 2008, Patrick became the first female IndyCar driver to win a race by winning at Twin Ring Motegi. In that historic race, according to USAToday.com, Patrick only led three laps, but they were the final three laps as she outlasted the field on fuel mileage.

Moving ahead to 2009, Patrick had a career best finish of third in the Indy 500. However, with her contract with Andretti-Green Racing (AGR) up at the end of the year, Patrick, as any sports icon would, is testing the free agent market looking for possibly greener pastures. To this point, she still only has that won career victory in the IRL, and she may be looking to go over to NASCAR and drive a completely different type of car. One that weighs almost twice as much as an IndyCar, and handles much worse as the technology in NASCAR is far behind that in IndyCar racing.

There are several scenarios that could play out if Patrick does indeed make a move to NASCAR. She will most likely have to spend a year or so in the second tier Nationwide Series that the Sprint Cup Series uses as its minor league. If she is willing to do something like this, her possibilities are almost limitless as far as whom she could sign with. With the current economy, many NASCAR organizations are looking for drivers who will pull in sponsorship, and this would be no problem for the popular Patrick as she has always had competition from companies wanting to advertise on her car.

The teams in NASCAR that Patrick would most likely want to join are on a list that includes the dominant Hendrick Motorsports, newly formed Stewart-Haas Racing, Penske Championship Racing, and Joe Gibbs Racing. However, there are issues that arise with each of these possibilities.

Hendrick Motorsports is not a very good fit for Patrick right now because all four teams currently have drivers under contract for at least 2010. Stewart-Haas Racing provides an interesting opportunity because co-owner Tony Stewart has expressed a desire to add a third team to the stable for 2010. This could open an opportunity for Patrick to get in a Sprint Cup ride right away. Penske is looking to replace driver David Stremme in the #12 car. They have expressed interest in driver Brad Keselowski for the job, but as of now Keselowski has commitments to Chevrolet. This is probably the second most logical spot for Patrick to land. The final big team that Patrick could sign with would be Joe Gibbs Racing, but JGR would have to add another car and the organization to this point has expressed no interest in adding another car to the three that they currently field.

This possible move to NASCAR could all be for not, though, because Patrick may very well stay in the IRL and continue with AGR. Some people have suggested that Patrick may be using a possible move to NASCAR as a bargaining chip in order to raise her price tag with a new open-wheel contract. In any case, Patrick's popularity is in no danger of dwindling as she ponders possibly the biggest decision in her career to date.

Nate Ryan, "Lady's first: Patrick revels in popular, historic win." USAToday.com.