NASCAR: Five reasons Danica Patrick leaving Stewart-Haas Racing is the right decision

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RICHMOND, VA – SEPTEMBER 08: Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 Warrior by Danica Patrick/HSN.com Ford (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /

She has already peaked

Whether it was two years ago a full two years after her full-time career with Stewart-Haas Racing began or it’s now, there were and are some people who still believe that Danica Patrick can somehow break out and start winning races as a regular race contender.

But the fact is, that just isn’t the case. While her past two finishes in the championship standings prior to the beginning of this season are tied for her career-high, here’s why that is not the case.

A career-high finish in the NASCAR Cup Series standings of 24th place through four seasons is not good no matter how you slice it. Therefore, it may not seem like a peak for many people.

But for Danica Patrick, it unfortunately is. As mentioned earlier in this article, she has not had one single top 5 finish in 180 career Cup Series races and rarely finishes in the top 10 or even the top 15. So why should she become a contender now all of a sudden?

More from Danica Patrick

The one racing series she has really had good results in is IndyCar. Even though she only won one race in her seven-year career in the sport, she finished lower than 10th place in the standings just once, with that being a 12th place finish in her rookie season. Her career-high finish was a 5th place effort in 2009.

In seven Indianapolis 500 races, she failed to finish just once. She never finished lower than 10th place in the six races she was actually able to finish, and her career-high finish was a 3rd place effort in 2009.

But even a return to IndyCar may not help rejuvenate her declining career. She last drove for the series in 2011, which will be seven years ago in 2018. Both the cars and the drivers have changed a lot, and it would be extremely hard for her to catch up with everything if the slight possibility that she returns to IndyCar were to actually become a reality.

The bottom line is the fact that she certainly does know how to drive a race car. The problem is that despite this fact, she has still not been able to perform well in NASCAR, and she appears to be getting worse. Her peak years are behind her, and there is a plethora evidence backs that up.

Next: Five possible replacement candidates for Danica Patrick in 2018

Do you think Danica Patrick will return to the NASCAR Cup Series at all 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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