NASCAR: Five possible Cup Series destinations for Danica Patrick in 2018

Richard Petty Motorsports, Ford

Right before Danica Patrick made the surprising announcement that she would be leaving Stewart-Haas Racing following the conclusion of the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series season, Smithfield Foods announced that they would be pulling their sponsorship at Richard Petty Motorsports and moving to Stewart-Haas Racing.

So the fact that Patrick, whose main issues aside of her lackluster results over the course of her Cup Series career were her recent sponsorship issues, announced that she was departing from Stewart-Haas Racing right after they gained a sponsor is quite interesting to say the very least.

But what it probably means is that Aric Almirola, the current driver of the #43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford, will be taking over Patrick’s ride in the #10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford in the 2018 season, leaving the seat of the #43 Ford open. Could Patrick possibly land the ride?

The Richard Petty Motorsports team has admitted that they want Darrell Wallace Jr. as Almirola’s replacement in the 2018 season. Wallace Jr. drove and did well in four Cup Series races this season as Almirola’s replacement after Almirola was sidelined with injuries he sustained in a wreck involving himself, Patrick and Joey Logano at Kansas in May. However, Wallace Jr. will need to bring a primary sponsor and lots of funding to make this happen, which makes this possibility less likely than it would otherwise be at least as far as the 2018 season is concerned.

While she has had recently sponsorship issues, Patrick’s popularity is something no one can deny, and surely there are tons of potential sponsors out there than would give an arm and a leg to be on the side of her Cup Series car, which would greatly benefit Richard Petty Motorsports, as they are in need of sponsorship. Plus, if Stewart-Haas Racing had Smithfield coming on board and Patrick still left, was her issue with the team really sponsorship?