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JOLIET, Ill. -- Danica Patrick's father is exploring the possibility of the popular Indy Racing League driver moving to NASCAR as soon as next year, the Orlando Sentinel reported Monday. Barry Taylor/WireImage.com Danica Patrick's father says she could be leaving IRL for NASCAR as soon as next season. The Sentinel reported that T.J. Patrick, who has managed Danica Patrick's career since childhood, was in exploratory talks with some NASCAR teams at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday. "I'm trying to get her here [into NASCAR]," T.J. Patrick told the Sentinel. T.J. and Bev Patrick, who formerly lived in Roscoe, Ill., attended NASCAR's...

January 28, 2006Patrick runs right over doubts about women racersBy KEN WILLISSports Columnist DAYTONA BEACH --It's not that there haven't been any women racers before, including some who made their way to a Victory Lane here and there at various levels of motorsports. Problem is, the list is hardly a scroll. Therefore, Danica Patrick, who can appear so steely, so self-assured, so focused, gives an honest and somewhat surprising admission. "I cannot blame people for wondering if a girl can drive," she said Friday, the day before her debut in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, which begins today at...

On her Web site, Danica McKellar, the actress best known as Winnie Cooper on the television series "The Wonder Years," takes on questions that require more than a moment's thought to answer. "If it takes Sam six minutes to wash a car by himself," one fan asked recently, "and it takes Brian eight minutes to wash a car by himself, how long will it take them to wash a car together?" "This is a 'rates' problem," Ms. McKellar wrote in reply. "The key is to think about each of their 'car washing rates' and not the 'time' it takes them."...

Danica Patrick has surged onto the open-wheel racing world, but that might not be sitting well with the old-school boss of Formula One racing. Formula One is getting its most high-profile United States presence with the U.S. Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend, but Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone doesn't seem to be too crazy about Patrick joining her male competitors on the track, despite her recent Indy 500 success. "She did a good job, didn't she? Super. Didn't think she'd be able to make it like that," Ecclestone told a gathering of reporters about Patrick's Indy 500...

Robbie Gordon of NASCAR started the discussion, saying that he wouldn't drive in the Indy Car Racing League series until they do something about Danica Patrick's weight 'advantage.''The lighter the car, the faster it goes,' Gordon said. 'Do the math. Put her in the car at her weight, then put me or Tony Stewart in the car at 200 pounds and our cars are at least 100 pounds heavier.' 'I wont race against her until the IRL does something to take that advantage away.'I glanced at the weight of the weight of the drivers in the Indy Car Series. They...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (May 31) - Robby Gordon was not being critical of Danica Patrick when he said she had an unfair weight advantage in the Indianapolis 500. Rather, he said he was simply discussing a flaw in the Indy Racing League's rules. "The only thing I was saying was that I have a problem with the rule, not any particular driver," Gordon said Tuesday. "I've been impressed with Danica from the first time she got in an IRL car earlier this year, and I certainly did not mean to disrespect her or any other driver." Patrick wowed the racing world...

NEW YORK - Danica Patrick's first Indianapolis 500 made for great television. ABC's broadcast on Sunday drew a 6.6 overnight rating and a 17 share, up 40 percent from last year and the highest since 1997.Patrick, who became the first woman to hold the lead at the Indy 500, led several of the final laps before settling for fourth. The ratings during the last 15 minutes of the race spiked to 8.8/21. Dan Wheldon passed the 23-year-old rookie with seven laps to go and coasted to his first victory at the Brickyard. Last year's race, won by Patrick's Rahal-Letterman teammate...

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- Robby Gordon accused Danica Patrick of having an unfair advantage in the Indianapolis 500 and said Saturday he will not compete in the race again unless the field is equalized. Gordon, a former open-wheel driver now in NASCAR, contends that Patrick is at an advantage over the rest of the competitors because she only weighs 100 pounds. Because all the cars weigh the same, Patrick's is lighter on the race track. "The lighter the car, the faster it goes," Gordon said. "Do the math. Put her in the car at her weight, then put me or...

Robby Gordon accused Danica Patrick of having an unfair advantage in the Indianapolis 500 and said Saturday he will not compete in the race again unless the field is equalized. Gordon, a former open-wheel driver now in NASCAR, contends that Patrick is at an advantage over the rest of the competitors because she only weighs 100 pounds. Because all the cars weigh the same, Patrick's is lighter on the race track. "The lighter the car, the faster it goes," Gordon said. "Do the math. Put her in the car at her weight, then put me or Tony Stewart in the...