Danica Patrick Indy 500 Decision: Will Not Race in 2013, Focus on NASCAR Instead (VIDEO)
Danica Patrick will not race in the Indy 500 2013 this year, the NASCAR driver has confirmed. Patrick has confirmed that she has no plans to take part in the Indianapolis 500 as she wants to concentrate on her first full time season on NASCAR's top tier competition.
Patrick wants to give the NASCAR season her full attention, and it should allow her to tunnel her focus after recently announcing that she would be divorcing her husband after seven years of marriage.
The race driver made the difficult announcement on her social media page on Facebook in November, confirming that she and Paul Hospenthal would be going their separate ways after seven years together.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Patrick also did not race in the Indy 500 last year; she decided instead to race at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which took place on the same day. It appears she will do the same this year.
Last year was Patrick's first full season in NASCAR, running in a full Nationwide schedule as well as 10 Sprint Cup Series races. She has said, "The team and I decided to focus on (Sprint) Cup. It's going to be plenty of work as it is, and it's going to be important for me running for the championship full-time for the first time to really keep myself focused with the Cup car. But If I do do the Indy 500 moving forward, it will be with Go Daddy," according to the Associated Press.
Speaking about whether this year will involve some Nationwide series events, she confirmed that she has not yet signed any deals with a racing team or sponsor yet: "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. 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."
Here is a video of a 2012 interview with Danica Patrick:
