Once a darling of sponsors, Danica Patrick now finds herself at their mercy when it comes to whether her NASCAR career continues.
Some fans have long suspected that it was sponsors, not performance, that were the reason that Danica Patrick got a shot to drive regularly at the highest level of NASCAR. The irony is that while her results are as solid as they’ve ever been, sponsorship issues will likely trump her modest but real on-track performance.
In the midst of the longest top-15 streak of her NASCAR Cup Series career, Patrick isn’t answering many questions about her driving but instead fielding queries about whether she’ll still be in the No. 10 for Stewart-Haas Racing next season. Her answers have been straight to the point: she might be, but it depends on whether she has a sponsor for 2018.
Patrick explained her situation to USA Today, making it clear that SHR wasn’t trying to buy her out but instead might simply part ways with her because it can’t afford to field a car for her without more dollars coming in.
"“There’s no buyout needed. I don’t have a sponsor. It’s contingent on the sponsor.”"
Her situation even coming into 2017 was unexpectedly shaky thanks to the drama between Nature’s Bakery, which was supposed to be the primary sponsor on the 10 for the majority of this season’s races. That company and Stewart-Haas Racing ended up in court before reaching an agreement that saw Nature’s Bakery sponsor a few races for Patrick’s teammates instead.
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Aspen Dental has largely filled the void, but it’s unclear whether it would consider such a big role again in 2018. Patrick says she’d consider a full-time ride with another team, but any open seat elsewhere would likely come with the same sponsor-driven considerations.
SHR already declined the option of Patrick’s teammate Kurt Busch for 2018, and one can’t help but feel that decision was sponsor-driven as well. It’s starting to look like the team’s driver lineup could have two new faces or shrink to just two cars, which would be a somewhat depressing state of affairs — but one that’s a microcosm of what’s going on with NASCAR writ large right now.