HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Danica Patrick announced Friday she will retire from full-time racing next year after running the Daytona 500 and then the Indianapolis 500, closing her career at the track that made her famous.

Patrick told The Associated Press it took her many months to come to the realization her career is all but over. Once she accepted it, the idea of ending her career at Indianapolis Motor Speedway popped into her head.

She told her agent, and she’s been working on putting together “The Danica Double” over the last several weeks.

“Nothing that was being presented excited me, then about three weeks ago, I just blurted out, ‘What about Indy? Let’s end it with the Indy 500,”‘ she said. “This ignites something in me. But I am done after May. Everyone needs to put their mind there. My plan is to be at Indy, and then I’m done.”

Patrick would not reveal who she will drive for in either race next year, but Chip Ganassi Racing is the likely ride at Indy.

Patrick will not be driving in the Daytona 500 for Stewart-Haas Racing, team co-owner Tony Stewart told AP. Patrick moved from IndyCar to NASCAR after the 2011 season and has been racing for SHR since 2012. She is being replaced after Sunday’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway by Aric Almirola.

Patrick is the only woman to have led laps in both the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500. She ran the Indy 500 from 2005 through 2011, leading 19 laps as a rookie and finishing third in 2009.


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