Danica headed to NASCAR full time in 2012

Notebook: Report: Danica headed to NASCAR full time in 2012

 Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

 

(May 24, 2011)

 Danica Patrick could be racing full time in NASCAR as soon as next season, ESPN.com reported Tuesday.

 Patrick is in her second season of driving part time in the Nationwide Series for JR Motorsports, which is co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. She started 13 races in 2010 and is scheduled to make at least 12 starts in 2011.

 Patrick, who is in the final year of her IndyCar Series contract with Andretti Autosport, said last week a move to NASCAR full time was not out of the question.

 “I suppose anything is possible,” she said Thursday when asked if this would be her seventh and final Indy 500. “But I know I haven’t made any of those decisions yet.”

 Patrick, 29, has been driving full time in IndyCar since 2005. She has one win, in 2008 at Motegi, Japan, and will start 25th in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500.

 Patrick would race full time in the Nationwide Series in 2012, but her deal still will allow her to race in the Indianapolis 500, the website reported. Sources told ESPN.com Patrick would race full time in the Cup series in 2013 after entering several Cup races in 2012.

 JR Motorsports is a joint venture with Hendrick Motorsports, but Hendrick fields the maximum number of drivers allowed by NASCAR in the Sprint Cup Series with Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin and Earnhardt. Martin is in the final season of his contract with Hendrick and will be replaced by Kasey Kahne in 2012.

 Details on which team will field a car for Patrick in 2012 have not been finalized, sources told the website.

 

Kyle Busch cited for going 128 mph

 Kyle Busch was cited for careless and reckless driving Tuesday afternoon after being clocked going 128 mph in a 45 mph zone outside Mooresville, N.C., the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office confirmed.

 Iredell County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Chris Stone stopped a yellow sports car between the cities of Troutman and Mooresville, the Statesville Record & Landmark reported.

 Busch is coming off a second-place finish in the Sprint All-Star Race, where he was the runner-up to Carl Edwards.

 

 Villeneuve to replace Keselowski in two Nationwide races

 Jacques Villeneuve will return to NASCAR this summer when he runs two Nationwide Series road-course races for Penske Racing. He will drive the No. 22 car normally piloted by Brad Keselowski.

 The events are at Road America (June 25) and Montreal (August 20). They are non-companion races, meaning the Sprint Cup Series will be elsewhere that weekend. Keselowski said he’s stepping out of the car for those races to concentrate on his Cup efforts. 

Villeneuve, 40, a native of Montreal, is one of the world’s most accomplished drivers. He has won the Indy 500 and championships in CART and Formula One. He has made three starts in the Cup series and five in the Nationwide Series. His best finish is third, last year at Montreal, where the track is named after his father.

 Villeneuve recently tested with the team at Road Atlanta. He won at Road America (Elkhart Lake, Wis.) twice in the 1990s in a Champ Car.

 

 NASCAR penalizes Hornaday 25 points

 Kevin Harvick Inc. driver Ron Hornaday has been penalized 25 points and crew chief Jeff Hensley fined $10,000 for using an unapproved rear-end gear ratio during the N.C. Education Lottery 200.

 The team has also been docked 25 owner points for the infraction found in postrace inspection following the May 20 Camping World Truck Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

 The 25-point penalty drops Hornaday, who was three points behind series leader Cole Whitt, from third to fifth in the standings.

 In another series penalty, Richard Childress Racing crew chief Gary Stockman was fined $1,000 for a shifter lever that was not metal on the truck of Austin Dillon. That infraction was found during inspection before the first practice.

 

 Ricky Viers named crew chief for Michael Annett

 Rusty Wallace Racing has hired former Roush Fenway Racing and Baker Curb Racing crew chief Ricky Viers to replace Jason Overstreet as crew chief for Michael Annett.

 Annett, in his first season at Rusty Wallace Racing, is 11th in the Nationwide Series points standings but has failed to finish in the top 10 through this season’s first 12 races.

 Viers also has been a crew chief at Red Bull Racing and Richard Childress Racing.

 Overstreet will become the car chief for the RWR No. 64 part-time team, which is being driven this year by David Reutimann and Jason Bowels.

 

 Jeff Burton crew member suspended by NASCAR

 Gary Frost, a crew member for Jeff Burton’s No. 31 team in the Sprint Cup Series, has been suspended indefinitely from NASCAR for violating NASCAR’s substance abuse policy, it was announced Tuesday.

 

 “I am really looking forward to joining Penske Racing and getting the chance to race at two of my favorite tracks with the series championship team,” Villeneuve said. “I am excited to work with the Discount Tire/Ruby Tuesday Dodge crew and we should be very competitive in both of these events.”