Analysis: What losing GoDaddy means for Danica's NASCAR future
Now that GoDaddy.com is leaving NASCAR, the burning question is what's next for Danica Patrick, who has had the web-hosting company as her primary sponsor since 2010, when she was driving in the IndyCar Series?
Patrick is in the final year of her contract with Stewart-Haas Racing and is having her best season to date, currently ranked 16th in points. In 91 career starts in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Patrick has seven top-10 finishes, including two this year. That's the most of any female driver in NASCAR history.
That said, based on on-track results, Patrick has not risen to the level of being one of the sport's elite drivers, as her three teammates, who have a collective five NASCAR Sprint Cup championships, have. She has yet to finish a race in the top five driving for the team that has won two of the past four championships and nine of the last 45 Sprint Cup races since the start of 2014.
In an exclusive interview with FOXSports.com last week at Richmond International Raceway, SHR co-owner Tony Stewart was asked whether he intended to keep the team's current driver-sponsorship alignment for 2016.
"It's too early right now," Stewart told FOXSports.com. "I think we're all worrying about week-to-week right now, but obviously we know what's coming up at the end of the year. It's on our minds, but the thing is, if we do our jobs week-to-week, I think it answers those questions a lot easier."
Asked via email Wednesday morning if SHR was going attempt to re-sign Patrick to a contract for 2016 and beyond, a team spokesman replied, "SHR is intent on keeping its driver roster intact."
And in a press release, SHR executive vice president Brett Frood said, "We look forward to fostering new partnerships for her and the No. 10 team."
Of course, the reality in NASCAR always comes down to money: If a sponsor steps up to fund Patrick at the level GoDaddy did -- believed to be north of $20 million annually -- there would be no reason for Patrick and SHR to part ways. And that's certainly possible, either with an existing associate sponsor or an all-new company.
"Maybe there's something out there that will be new and fresh, maybe reach a new demographic that both markets me and builds my brand," Patrick told the Associated Press. "I've always encouraged my partners to use my platform to build their brand, and this is maybe an opportunity for something new."
If the right sponsorship package can't be found, it might be hard to justify keeping Patrick, especially with team co-owner Gene Haas already funding Kurt Busch's car out of his own pockets.
Right now, SHR and Patrick sound like they have every intention of wanting to go forward together, but time and sponsorship dollars will tell.
Then there's Patrick's off-track goals with boyfriend and fellow driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Last October, Patrick wrote a blog for PlayersTribune.com, during which see publicly acknowledged that she and Stenhouse were talking about a family.
"Now we have a dog (with her own Twitter account, @DallasStenhouse) and it makes me think about the question of children, so that's a decision for us to consider in our future," wrote Patrick of herself and Stenhouse. "This is stuff that I didn't entertain before I was with him and it's a big part of my life now. It's a question that every ambitious, working woman has to grapple with."
Meanwhile, GoDaddy has indicated it wants to retain Patrick on a personal services deal, even as it's planning to exit NASCAR.
During media day at Daytona in February, Patrick was asked what her plans were after she steps away from the cockpit.
"I don't have a plan," she said. "I feel like for me it's far enough away that I don't have a plan, but I have ideas and I have other interests that I enjoy, and I think that in sports there's an opportunity to pursue things that you just enjoy other than what you're doing. You know, while they really could become a job, they're really just an extension of something else that you enjoy doing.
"I think about that frequently, about what I like doing and how I can do something fun and hopefully profit from it after I'm done racing ... what else can you do to earn money, because when the income ends there, then ... how much you have saved up obviously determines whether or not you're able to continue with the lifestyle you want."
