In the speculation surrounding Danica Patrick’s final race in the 2018 Indianapolis 500, the choices are so obvious that they are being overlooked. Don’t be surprised if Patrick drives her final race for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing or possibly in the third entry at Ed Carpenter Racing.

The reason?

It’s simply a case of “All in the Family.”

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s general manager is Chase Selman. He is married to Patrick’s sister, Brooke. The couple has two young daughters. Patrick’s parents -- T.J. and Bev -- moved just west of Indianapolis to be closer to the family. Patrick, meanwhile, is a frequent visitor in Indiana and spent the Christmas holiday with her parents, sister, brother-in-law and nieces.

From the moment Patrick walked into the media center at Homestead-Miami Speedway last year and announced the 102nd Indianapolis 500 would be the final race of her career, the speculation moved to the big teams. But owner Roger Penske said later that day, it would not be with Team Penske. Chip Ganassi said later that night that he had discussed the possibility with Patrick’s agent, Alan Zucker, but those talks did not produce a deal, and by the Performance Racing Industry Show in Indianapolis in mid-December, Ganassi indicated it wasn’t going to happen.

Chip Ganassi Racing president Steve Lauletta confirmed that recently on Sirius Radio.

Much of the focus on Ganassi’s team was the fact she could drive in both the Daytona 500 in February and the Indy 500 in May for the same operation. But nowhere in her announcement did she say both races had to be with the same team.

And on the same day as Patrick’s announcement in November, her former IndyCar Series team owners Bobby Rahal and Michael Andretti both said she wouldn’t be driving for them. Sam Schmidt said in a phone interview that day that his team “was full” with no room for an additional car.

Autoweek has kept in touch with her father, who is not involved in discussions for his daughter, but does hint his son-in-law’s team would be a great fit for Patrick in the Indy 500.

“They are looking at two cars, so you never know,” T.J. Patrick said. “They always run well at the Indy 500. Anything is possible.”

Team owner Dennis Reinbold nearly always has a competitive Chevrolet in the Indy 500 as a one-off team. Sage Karam has piloted that car in the race since 2016, and the team expected to run two cars in the 2018 Indy 500, according to T.J. Patrick.

When asked if the team is talking to Patrick, Selman said, “No comment.”

There is also a family connection at Ed Carpenter Racing as Chase Selman’s father, Wayne, is a member of the team. He is the team's tire man and drives one of the team’s transporters.

Wayne Selman began his IndyCar career with Al Unser, Jr. at Galles Racing in the 1992 Indianapolis 500.

Selman’s brother, Cody, is married to Jamie Little -- the NASCAR pit reporter for Fox Sports.

When this group gets together on the holidays, it certainly turns a lot of heads in public because this is one of the power families in all of auto racing.

“When you go out with Danica, the luxuries of getting to sit at the chef’s table or the private room is cool because we don’t get those experiences every day,” Chase Selman said. “We get to see the other side, and that is neat. But she doesn’t let that go to her head. She is down-to-earth. She tells it how it is and just like my wife, Brooke, they get that from their mom and dad.”

Mark Miles confirmed to Autoweek that IndyCar is involved in helping Patrick secure a ride for the 102nd Indianapolis 500 and that Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and Ed Carpenter Racing are under consideration.

“It’s big for her and fabulous for the Indianapolis 500,” Miles said. “It will create a big buzz. Who knows, maybe there will be another surprise entry. But this is certainly very big. I think it’s terribly exciting. It’s been more than two months since I first started having conversations with people, but that’s all I can say about that.

“We’ll see what kind of off-track events might be organized to recognize her but right now the focus is on the ride she might be getting, how competitive she may be and what she does on the track. Her retirement is the top level of icing on the cake for us. I think it’s wonderful she has decided to make the Indianapolis 500 her retirement event.”

When two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso was at Indy in 2017, it brought more international interest. Miles believes Patrick’s final race may be “as big or bigger” in terms of exposure, especially in the United States.

“All of this and all of the years we have talked about makes a very strong statement the Indianapolis 500 remains an epic event,” Miles said. “The Indy 500 is back, but I don’t think that it ever really went away. This is another opportunity to heighten our profile. Ticket sales for next year have been very strong in renewals, and this gives us more to build on for 2018.

“Danica has always attracted phenomenal interest, and that will be the same in 2018. We have followed Janet Guthrie and all of the other women who have followed. But Danica is attractive and feisty and competitive, and fans all over the world were intrigued. She is a great draw for the sport.”

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io