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Former IndyCar driver Danica Patrick started racing in NASCAR in 2012 and announced her retirement at the end of the 2018 season. However, before retiring, she gave one last shot at arguably two of the most iconic races in the USA, the Indy 500 and the Daytona 500. Amid Patrick's IndyCar comeback, Team Penske owner Roger Penske revealed his conversation with Chip Ganassi about Danica's Indy 500 situation.
Danica Patrick announced her return for the 2018 Indy 500 late in 2017. However, she didn't confirm which team she would be racing for. Amid the speculations, Penske sent a message to rival IndyCar Team owner Chip Ganassi, asking him to sign Patrick for the Indy 500, as Team Penske didn't have a seat available for her.
Roger Penske had a feeling that Danica Patrick would be racing for Chip Ganassi Racing, as the note sent to the CGR owner read (November 2017 via NBC Sports):
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“I sent him a note and said, `Congratulations. Danica better be driving your car at Indy because unfortunately she’s not driving for us.”
Further speaking about Patrick’s comeback, the struggles of adjusting from NASCAR to IndyCar, and the expectations around Danica, Roger Penske said:
“I think she’s going to come back to IndyCar a lot tougher having run in NASCAR. I think she’s going to be someone that, in a good car, is going to pick it up. She’s got plenty of time to practice.”
Team Penske had already confirmed four entries for the 2018 Indy 500, which included Will Power, Josef Newgarden, Helio Castroneves, who attempted his fourth Indy 500 win, and Simon Pagenaud.
Danica Patrick eventually raced for Ed Carpenter Racing during the 2018 Indy 500 but ended up retiring from the race.
Danica Patrick crashed out of her final Indy 500 race
The 2018 Indy 500 was the last professional race of Danica Patrick's career. She remains the only woman to have led laps at the Daytona 500 as well as Indy 500.
Patrick did well to qualify for the 2018 race, as she stepped into an open-wheel car after half a decade. She started in P7 but crashed out on Lap 68 after losing control of the car out of turn 2.
“It just kind of swung around when I got back in the throttle," she said (via NY Times). "I wasn’t expecting it by any means. These cars are tough to drive. Definitely not a great ending.
"I kind of said before I came here that I feel like if it is a complete disaster — complete like as in I’m not in the ballpark at all and look silly, then people may remember that. And if I win, people will remember that. But probably anything in between might just be a little part of a bigger story. So I kind of feel like that’s how it is, you know.”
Danica Patrick later joined the media industry and worked as an analyst and host for NBC and Sky Sports. She most recently got involved in the world of politics and was spotted speaking on behalf of Donald Trump during the 2024 U.S. Presidential elections.
