Timing Crucial in Danica Patrick Move

INDIANAPOLIS -- The timing of the latest round of Danica Patrick-to-NASCAR reports isn't lost on those in the IndyCar world, where Thursday's major announcement that IZOD will be the IndyCar Series' first title sponsor in a decade has been forced to share headlines with its most famous driver's likely part-time foray into stock cars.

Recently crowned 2009 IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti -- a former Andretti Green Racing teammate of Patrick's -- said Thursday he's still confident she's staying in IndyCar next season.

"I believe she'll be back in IndyCar next year and that will help her with her goal of winning the Indianapolis 500,'' Franchitti told FanHouse. "If she does drive in NASCAR, I think it will be difficult to do both.''

And like many others in open-wheel circles, he also questioned the suspect timing of this week's reports about Patrick moving to NASCAR.

"There seems to be a certain game being played - not by her or her people - to drip feed these stories to the media,'' Franchitti said.

While Patrick, 27, and her agents at IMG have refused to confirm any news about 2010, multiple IndyCar sources confirmed Thursday that she's already signed a deal to be back in IndyCar full-time at Andretti Green Racing while also making a few stock car starts next season. Sponsorship commitments and leadership changes at AGR have prevented any type of formal announcement yet.

IZOD IndyCar Series officials refused to let recent speculation distract from Thursday's IndyCar news at Indianapolis Motor Speedway - a sponsorship deal IndyCar Series President of Competition Division Brian Barnhart referred to as the most significant development in the sport.

"We're comfortable and happy with where we are as a sport and the momentum we are building,'' Barnhart said. "We're hoping she'll be a big part of it.''

Barnhart's counterpart in the Commercial Division, Terry Angstadt said the constant rumors don't even phase the company.

"I don't think it hurts us one bit if she does some NASCAR races,'' Angstadt said. "It think it may actually raise the interest level, knowing that her full time interest is still being an IndyCar driver.''

For her part, Patrick isn't providing any details - in fact she refused to even take questions about it at the IRL season finale in Homestead last month - but a part-time job for her in NASCAR has been the worst-kept secret in North Carolina.

For more than a month there have been reports that Patrick was negotiating with JR Motorsports. This week, ESPN reported she is close to finalizing a deal with plans to drive a dozen or so NASCAR Nationwide Series races for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s team after making her stock car debut in the ARCA Series opener at Daytona International Speedway in February.

Over the last few months Patrick has met with several NASCAR teams. Stewart-Haas Racing owner-driver Tony Stewart - himself a former IRL champion - met with her and told reporters he was certain Patrick would compete in NASCAR at some level in 2010, but has repeatedly denied it will be for him.

Owner Michael Waltrip has publicly offered to broker a deal for Patrick too, but the likely scenario seems to involve Hendrick Motorsports equipment - which is what JR Motorsports uses.

Sources told FanHouse two weeks ago that a deal was once nearly completed for Patrick to drive trucks and Nationwide Series cars for Kevin Harvick under the tutelage of Harvick and Stewart, but it fell through over a sponsorship issue.

GoDaddy.com sponsors both Patrick and Earnhardt so it would be a plausible scenario to team up open-wheel's most famous driver with NASCAR's most-famous driver in what would be a marketing nirvana.

Both drivers are winless this year. But Patrick, whose victory in the 2008 IRL race in Japan made her the first woman to win a major professional race, was the top-finishing American in the IndyCar Series championship with a career best fifth place.

Earnhardt, on the other hand, has struggled mightily in his second season with Hendrick Motorsports. He's recorded only five top-10 finishes, had a mid-season crew chief change, and is on pace for his worst ever championship ranking (currently 23rd) while his three teammates are first, second and third in the standings.

While the rumors and non-sourced reports are picking up pace as the season winds down, Patrick has repeatedly insisted she would prefer to make any formal announcements about her plans in the winter off-season - perhaps late November.