NASCAR Buy or Sell: Danica Patrick retiring after the 2017 season?

Danica Patrick’s future as a NASCAR Cup Series driver is far from certain. Could she retire at the end of the 2017 season?

Danica Patrick has driven in the NASCAR Cup Series since the 2012 season. She became a full-time driver the following season driving for Stewart-Haas Racing and opened up her time there by taking the pole for the 2013 Daytona 500.

However, after finishing in 8th place in her first race with the team, she has not had much success. Given her lack of success among other issues, which will be gone into more below, her future in the sport, particularly with Stewart-Haas Racing, has opened up the possibility of her retiring at the end of the 2017 season.

Danica Patrick retiring after the 2017 season: BUY

There has not been any driver driving for a top-tier team like Stewart-Haas Racing who has struggled as much as Danica Patrick has in her five seasons with the team. In 168 races with the team, she has just seven top 10 finishes and has never finished in the top 5.

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The only season she finished ahead of another driver driving for a top-tier team in the championship standings was the 2015 season when she finished ahead of Tony Stewart.

Stewart, a three-time champion of the sport, has since retired, while Patrick still has her ride and is failing to produce. In fact, she hasn’t finished higher than 10th place in any of the last 88 races dating back over two full years ago.

But it’s not just lack of production that makes Patrick retiring a likely possibility. She has had some sponsorship issues and may not have a primary sponsor next season. A few months ago, she also stated that she wants to have fun behind the wheel, but she hasn’t been having much fun lately.

"“As long as it’s fun – and it hasn’t been super fun lately. But every year I start the year, I always have hope that it’s going to be the year that things are going to click. I understand my career hasn’t progressed. Maybe it’s regressed? Why is that? Am I worse driver than I was a couple of years ago? Probably not. I don’t think anybody gets worse. So it’s really a matter of all the factors around you.”"

More recently, she stated that if she does end up continuing her NASCAR career past the 2017 season, it will be in the Cup Series only. In other words, if she doesn’t have a Cup Series ride, she won’t have any ride in NASCAR. Since having a Cup Series ride next season may be a challenge, that makes retirement all the more likely for her.

"“Cup only…I want to continue racing if I have an opportunity to do well. I have no interest, as I’ve said for years now, to run 25th. It’s not fun. So if I don’t feel like I can have the opportunity to move on from there and have a better opportunity, then honestly I don’t care.”"

Next: 10 Cup Series drivers who deserve better rides

Do you think Danica Patrick will retire following the conclusion of the 2017 season? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to follow Beyond the Flag on both Instagram and Twitter. Also, don’t forget to follow along with Beyond the Flag for the latest news, opinions and analysis stemming from a number of different motorsports series. You don’t want to miss any of it.