Verizon IndyCar Series team, Ed Carpenter Racing, have given fans a first look at the #13 GoDaddy Chevrolet that will be driven by the returning Danica Patrick in the 2018 Indianapolis 500. Danica will make her much-anticipated return to IndyCar for the race in May and will then retire from motorsports after that.
The #13 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet is liveried up in the now iconic GoDaddy green that Danica ran for much of her career. The web domains company first partner with Patrick in the early years of her stint in IndyCar back in 2006 and remained with her when she made the transition to stock car racing in 2012.
The partnership between Patrick and GoDaddy finally reached its conclusion at the end of the 2015 NASCAR Cup Series, but when Patrick announced late last year that she would compete in both the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500 this year before retiring, GoDaddy came back. The company backed Patrick in February’s Daytona 500 with Premium Motorsports and also committed to backing Patrick in the second half of her ‘Danica Double’ in May.
Her last GoDaddy race car, the #13 ECR Chevrolet, was unveiled in the flesh at Indianapolis Motor Speedway today. Patrick commented that seeing her car in person gave the whole of the experience of returning to the series a sense of reality:
“It’s pretty damn real, it’s completely real,” said Patrick, who hasn’t driven a single seater since leaving IndyCar at the end of 2011, “Yeah, I’m excited. It scares me a little bit to look at how small that rear wing is, but hey, I’m sure there’s [downforce] grip somewhere – more grip than I’m used to.”
Patrick announced in February that she would be racing with Ed Carpenter Racing for her final race before retirement. She had been due to get her first laps in the car this week in a series test at IMS. However, the test was cancelled due to potential adverse weather conditions. The test will now take place at the beginning of May. Despite the postponed test, Patrick states that her preparations with the team so far have been going well.
“Everybody’s been great,” Patrick said, “Everybody’s been good to work with and fun and easy, and working hard, and getting the right people involved. [It’s] giving us a shot to finish the way I started.”
Patrick will be hoping that she can take an elusive Indianapolis 500 victory when she makes her return. In her seven starts in the Indy 500, she finished inside the top ten six times. She also led the race numerous times and finished in third place in 2009.
Practice for the 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500 will begin on May 15, followed by two days of qualifying on May 19-20. The race itself will take place on May 27.