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NASCAR Buy or Sell: Danica Patrick returning in 2018?

By Asher Fair

BROOKLYN, MI - AUGUST 11: Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 Code 3 Associates Ford, stands on the grid during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on August 11, 2017 in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
BROOKLYN, MI - AUGUST 11: Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 Code 3 Associates Ford, stands on the grid during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on August 11, 2017 in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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Will Danica Patrick return to the NASCAR Cup Series as a full-time driver in the 2018 season for the sixth straight year despite being out at Stewart-Haas Racing?

Danica Patrick, 35, announced that she will not return as the driver of the #10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford next season for the sixth straight year. Will she, however, be back as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver in the 2018 season with another team?

Patrick first came to the NASCAR Cup Series in the 2012 season and drove 10 races for Tommy Baldwin Racing in addition to driving full-time in the Nationwide (now Xfinity) Series for JR Motorsports. The following season is when she got a full-time ride in the Cup Series driving for Stewart-Haas Racing in the #10 Chevrolet, which is now the #10 Ford.

But her career has not been great at all. While she showed promise at the start of her tenure as a full-time driver by taking the pole in the 2013 Daytona 500 and finishing in 8th place, she has been anything but a great driver since.

In 180 career races, 170 of which with the top-tier Stewart-Haas Racing team, she has never finished in the top 5 and has only finished in the top 10 once, with just one of those top 10 finishes coming in the last 90 races.

Danica Patrick returning in 2018: SELL

Danica Patrick has driven for one of the top NASCAR Cup Series teams over the past half-decade, and she has still failed to perform at even a somewhat decent level. In fact, just once in her previous four seasons driving for Stewart-Haas Racing has she finished higher than another driver who was driving for a top-tier team, and that was in 2015 when she finished higher than Tony Stewart in the final championship standings. She will likely, once again, finish last among drivers who drive for top-tier teams this season.

More from Danica Patrick

Stewart, a three-time champion of the sport, is now retired. Yet Patrick, who has no career top 5 finishes, somehow has maintained her ride up until now despite her continuous lackluster performances.

Now that she won’t have her ride with Stewart-Haas Racing next season, there is no reason to think she’ll be back with a smaller team next season seeing as how she has failed to do well driving for a great team.

If Patrick were to return to the Cup Series next season, it would not be with a team nearly as good as Stewart-Haas Racing, so she would likely perform even worse than she already has. And she has no desire for that to be the case, so it’s hard to see her coming back in 2018.

"“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 drivers who deserve a better Cup Series ride

Do you think Danica Patrick will return to the NASCAR Cup Series in the 2018 season? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure 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. Also be sure to follow Beyond the Flag on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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