Indy 500: IndyCar cannot afford a Danica Patrick victory
By Asher Fair
Danica Patrick is set to make her IndyCar return in the 102nd running of the Indyin 500. While this is great news for the sport on many levels, IndyCar cannot afford to have her win the race.
Danica Patrick, 36, is set to drive for Ed Carpenter Racing in the 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500 in May. The race is set to be her final IndyCar race and her final race as a professional race car driver, and it is the second race of the “Danica Double”, which also included the 60th annual Daytona 500 of the NASCAR Cup Series.
Patrick last drove in the Indy 500 in the 2011 season, which is also the last season during which she drove in any IndyCar race. She has not started in an IndyCar race since the 2011 seasons finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway that was canceled as a result of the death of Dan Wheldon, which happened as a result of a 15-car crash on the 11th lap of the race.
Patrick began driving in IndyCar in the 2005 season, and she drove full-time in each season from 2005 to 2011. In six of those seven seasons, she was the sport’s Most Popular Driver Award winner. Had Wheldon not have been killed in 2011 and been posthumously awarded the honor that year, she likely would have won it in each of her seven seasons in the sport.