Danica 'pushing politely' for Daytona 500, Indy 500 rides

Michelle R. Martinelli | For The Win

Danica Patrick's career as a full-time race car driver came to an end - her last race as a full-time driver was the NASCAR Cup Series finale in November - with Stewart-Haas Racing replacing her on its team in 2018.

But before she walks away from the track for good, she has two more races she wants to do: the Daytona 500 in February and the Indy 500 in May.

For the biggest races in NASCAR and IndyCar, respectively, it's common for one-off drivers to compete, and given Patrick's rare ability to transcend racing, it didn't seem like it would be too challenging for her to secure a ride for the two races. She has, after all, been in NASCAR for the last eight years and raced in IndyCar from 2005 to 2011.

However, as she explained on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Thursday, finding teams for the two races is taking longer than she expected, but she's not going to rush the process.

She told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio:

"It's taking longer than I'd like it to take, I'll be really honest with you. I thought it was going to be a quicker process, but you know, you can't rush things. I'm a big believer - more and more all the time - of letting things flow and just letting things take shape in the way that they would, and that's kind of why I ended where I ended with finishing up (my) full-time career last year and doing the Daytona 500 and Indy 500 for this year. I was just like, I didn't push anything, and I just let things flow, and it turned out to be just perfect. Honestly, I'm excited and just so grateful. …

"So similarly with the teams I'm going to race for - or the team - in NASCAR and in IndyCar, I'm pushing politely, but you can't make things happen before they're ready to happen. So I kind of thought it would get more simple. There's less people involved, less sponsors, less things. Well, it's still complicated. It's still complicated. So it's just taking a little bit of time, but we'll hopefully have something to announce soon enough."

At Homestead-Miami Speedway for the last 2017 Cup Series race, Patrick tearfully explained it would be her last full-time season.

But, although she's not retiring the way she had hoped to, she said she's grateful that racing opened the door for her other business opportunities, like her wine brand, her clothing line and her recently released health and fitness book, Pretty Intense.

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