Danica Patrick, the pin-up girl of motor racing driver and a top model, has sensationally switched codes to compete in the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) championship full time.
Born in Beloit, Wisconsin, the 29-year-old’s best ever finish in the IndyCar Series was fifth and in March she finished fourth in the NASCAR rankings.
That position was a record for a female driver – and that helped convince the brunette to make a permanent move, in what she describes as ‘the worst kept secret in motor sport’.
Scroll down to watch Danica at Thursday’s press conference

The deal, announced yesterday, will put her in a Nationwide Series ride full time for JR Motorsports and a part-time gig in Sprint Cup for Stewart-Haas Racing in 2012 – and surely send reverberations across the two biggest motorsports series in the U.S.

‘I’ve been waiting for Danica to make the commitment to NASCAR and now that she has, I believe she will surprise a lot of sceptics,’ FOX analyst Darrel Waltrip said.
‘She is a very focused driver and now without the distractions of another series she can put all her efforts into it.
‘In a very short period of time and with very limited experience, she has shown me she has the talent to be very successful in NASCAR.

The news that Patrick was switching to fendered cars came as no surprise.


One of the most marketable stars in auto racing, she had been rumored to be headed to NASCAR even before she ran her first stock race, at an ARCA series event at Daytona in 2010.

It became official yesterday, when Patrick signed a contract with GoDaddy.com chairman Bob Parsons in front of TV cameras and a few dozen cheering company employees.
‘If it was about money, I’d have gone a long time ago,’ Patrick said from GoDaddy’s offices in north Scottsdale.
‘I just go where my heart tells me, where my gut tells me to go, where I’m enjoying my life the most, where I feel like I can have the most success.