"So much pressure on her": When Roger Penske spoke frankly about Danica Patrick's IndyCar-NASCAR dilemma

Danica Patrick earned her big breakthrough in IndyCar in the early 2000s but switched to stock car racing in 2012. In light of her intention to move to NASCAR in 2011, the Captain, Roger Penske, had talked about how the female racer had so much pressure on her to choose one of the two sports.

The 43-year-old is now a retired racecar driver and often performs motorsport pundit duties in the IndyCar and F1 spheres. However, she used to be an icon on the IndyCar and NASCAR paddock back in the day for being the sole female driver on the racing grid.

Patrick made her debut in IndyCar in 2005 and quickly rose to stardom due to her impressive finish at her first Indy 500. She then followed this result up with a win in 2008 and a top-three finish at the Indy 500 in the subsequent year.

On the other hand, the then-Andretti driver soon started to experiment with racing in the stock car realm and tried out her hand in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (now Xfinity Series). She recorded commendable results in 2010 and 2011 and was left with a dilemma on whether to continue racing at the premier open-wheel racing class in the United States or join the Cup Series.

Sharing his thoughts on the predicament that Patrick faced, Roger Penske said in 2011 (via SI):

"I've watched her run these last couple of races and going to Bristol the first time I thought she did a very good job. We have to give her credit. There is so much pressure on her. There are TV cameras on her every time she moves. I think she can win in IndyCar and she has... She has both circumstances now that she understands what is going on in NASCAR and she knows what goes on in IndyCar."

Danica Patrick raced in 116 races in IndyCar, while she made 191 race starts in the NASCAR Cup Series.

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Danica Patrick once revealed how NASCAR had a raw feeling while IndyCar felt fabricated

Danica Patrick at the 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500 in 2018 | Getty Images

After racing for six years in the Cup Series, Danica Patrick announced her intention to retire from racing in 2018. But before that, she made two race starts in 2018.

She participated in the Daytona 500 early in the year and then made her final race start from where it all began, i.e., in IndyCar at the 2018 Indy 500. Ahead of her final race start, the female driver had revealed how NASCAR was different from IndyCar, as she said (via IndyStar):

"There’s definitely a lot of posing, I felt, in IndyCar. Everybody was like, who could go to the hauler earlier to show they were more committed... People would not have a drink the entire season because it was the season. Then you go to NASCAR and it’s, ‘Whatever,’ less faking it."

However, Danica Patrick's last race starts in both NASCAR and IndyCar did not give her the farewell that she wanted, as she crashed out of both events early in the race.

Edited by Luke Koshi