Danica, Danica: Is NASCAR really in her 2010 plans, or is she just negotiating?

  
Is Danica just bluffing about NASCAR....maybe somebody will call her (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
  

   By Mike Mulhern
   mikemulhern.net

   POCONO, Pa.
   Danica Patrick to NASCAR?
   With her Indy-car contract up this season, Patrick, who finished third in the Indianapolis 500, is weighing her options for 2010. And she says that includes NASCAR.
   But Patrick says she isn't interested in moving from the IRL to NASCAR Trucks or Nationwide in order to learn the ropes. Straight to Cup instead.
   However, the idea of Patrick in a stock car so far hasn't really impressed anyone in the NASCAR garage, other than for her PR star power.
   At Texas over the weekend there was speculation that Joe Gibbs' Toyota team might be on her list. Gibbs has a three-car operation and he and J. D. Gibbs have been mulling over the addition of a fourth Cup team.
   But Danica Patrick in a Gibbs' Cup car? That question only brought rolls of laughter from the Gibbs crew.
   "There is zero possibility of Danica Patrick in a Joe Gibbs' Cup car," one crewman said flatly. "Joe Gibbs Racing is about performance."
   Jack Roush has shown some interest in Patrick the last few years, but that may be more about her powerful marketing appeal than visions of her going door-to-door hard with guys like Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards.