Danica Patrick is one of the most dynamic figures in auto racing. She is coming off of one of the best seasons of her career after racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and is set to begin her first full season as a driver in the Sprint Cup.
Patrick spoke about the upcoming racing season on Thursday and talked about rumors of her participation in the 2013 Indianapolis 500. Patrick confirmed to reporters that she will not be racing in the Indy 500 and will instead fully concentrate on her season in the Sprint Cup Series. She said that she would not rule out future races, but that this year she will not head to the track.
"I can confirm to you today I will not be doing the Indy 500,'' the Stewart-Haas Racing driver said to the Associated Press during the first of a three-day Sprint Cup test at Daytona International Speedway. "The team and I decided to focus on Cup. It's going to be plenty of work as it is."
Patrick was formerly an IndyCar star and competed seven times at the Indy 500 with six top-10 finishes before last season. She did not participate in the 2012 race after deciding to run in the Coca-Cola 600 that is run the same day at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which was one of her 10 Cup races she competed in last year.
"It's going to be important for me running for the championship full time for the first time to really keep myself focused on the Cup car. But if I do do the Indy 500 moving forward it will be with [sponsor] GoDaddy.''
Patrick's first-ever NASCAR Sprint Cup race took place at Daytona last year and that is the place she will start her season in 2013. Patrick hopes that the competition goes smoother this year than her past races at the track.
In 2010 she raced in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for the first time at Daytona and was involved in a 12-car accident. The next year in 2011 she competed in the Subway Jalapeño 250 Nationwide series race and finished 10th, but not before being involved in an incident on the last lap of the race. Last year she finished 38th in her first Sprint Cup race at Daytona and was involved in another crash, this time a five-car pileup that took down Jimmie Johnson, David Ragan, Trevor Bayne, and Kurt Busch.
Patrick has high-expectations for the Sprint Cup season, but said that she would not be discouraged by low placements at the start of the year.
"You can look a little bit of what happened last year as a bit of a baseline as to expectation levels and definitely areas that need work," Patrick said. "But it's a new year. It's a new car (for the Cup Series). A lot of stuff changes. ... Everything changes a little bit and you can really never know what to expect."
Patrick won't be the only high-profile rookie on the track this season either, as two-time Nationwide Series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is taking Matt Kenseth's spot at Roush Fenway Racing. The move for Patrick to the Sprint Cup is a natural progression and is part of the overall plan she had when she started to move away from IndyCar racing in the first place.
Last year Patrick won the NASCAR Nationwide Series Most Popular Driver Award and finished 10th place in the standings, the best result for a female driver ever. She will also be making a mark when she hits the track this season as the first woman to compete in the Sprint Cup Series full time. She will drive the No. 10 Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing.
"It's been a good year," Patrick said to FoxNews.com following the award win. "I've learned a lot. I feel much more prepared for next year. I feel more comfortable with the cars, I feel more comfortable with the weekends and the schedules."
During her run in the Nationwide series last year Patrick finished in the top 10 four different times and earned over $750,000. She earned 838 points while starting in 33 races and won one pole, finishing 413 points behind the points leader. Patrick also competed in a limited amount of Cup races last season and finished in the top 20 just once after placing 17th at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Phoenix. She also led 40 laps in the Nationwide circuit.
Her first season competing in the Sprint Cup had some ups and downs for Patrick, including tough races at tracks like Dover, Bristol, Darlington and Phoenix. At Darlington, one of the toughest tracks in the circuit, Patrick completed all 513 laps in the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races and finished 12th and 31st in those races respectively.
Patrick also dealt with a divorce from her husband Paul Hospenthal and had to change crew chiefs after Tony Eury Jr., who had been with her since starting her stock car racing career, left JR Motorsports after getting in a disagreement with the owners. Patrick performed much better over the second half of the season in 2012, finishing 24th at Texas earlier in November and 25th at Chicago in September. In her final Nationwide Series race at Homestead-Miami, Patrick finished 13 and led four laps.
Patrick also spoke to reporters about the NASCAR's new "Gen 6" car that will be used this season. She finished third in the speed chart in the first test session at Daytona that took place on Thursday.
"Who knows," the former IndyCar star said. "Maybe this new car will play into my driving style better than the old one. I'm not really sure. I have heard it drives a little bit more like a Nationwide car, so maybe it will be something that will be more familiar to me. I think that especially with a new car, being a new driver, I'm not going to be looking for a feeling that the old car gave me, because I don't really know it that well. That could be a real positive."
Patrick has yet to set her race schedule for the Nationwide series this season and it was also reported by espnW.com that Patrick would run a 10-race schedule for Turner beginning with the Feb. 23 opener at Daytona.
''I'm not sure if that's completely set. There have been some reports that have come out about running for Turner, and we're definitely talking to them trying to figure it out,'' Patrick said. ''We're definitely working on that, but there's been nothing signed yet, and the exact dates and the sponsor has yet to be confirmed for all that.''
Patrick is one of the most popular athletes in racing due to the fact that she is a woman, but she has proven over the years that she is a skilled driver and could be a force this season on the track even without winning any races. Patrick will likely take things slow to start the season, but should improve as the year goes on, much like she did in 2012.
