Danica Patrick gets Daytona 500 ride with Premium Motorsports

The first half of the so-called “Danica Double” puzzle has been solved, as Premium Motorsports has stepped forward with a ride at Daytona.

It’s not the big time team she may have hoped for, but Danica Patrick has a ride for the 2018 Daytona 500.

While she had mentioned ongoing talks for weeks, even months, there had been more recent chatter about where Patrick wouldn’t drive for the first part of her two-race farewell to racing than where she might end up. In the end, Premium Racing is stepping up and putting her in its No. 7 Chevrolet, which has a charter and thus guarantees Danica a spot in the Daytona 500 field.

As reported by ESPN’s Bob Pockrass, the crew chief for Patrick will be Tony Eury Jr., and as previously announced, GoDaddy will sponsor her for the Great American Race.

That makes it a pair of reunions, as Patrick herself noted in a press release:

"“I’ll be back in GoDaddy green, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet with Tony Jr. in my ear again. It all makes my last NASCAR race just that much sweeter.”"

Premium Motorsports ran the No. 15 last season, primarily with Joey Gase behind the wheel, and could charitably be called a non-factor. Patrick should help in that regard, and the team will have engines and support from Richard Childress Racing.

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Still, no one is expecting Danica (probably not even Patrick herself, if she was being 100 percent honest) to win the Daytona 500 in her last attempt at it, something she’s never been able to do while racing full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series. If she runs well, she and her fans will likely consider that a success in and of itself, and at least now, Premium Motorsports is giving her the chance to try.