What had been independently reported by two television stations(WXIN-Indianapolis and WMTH-Milwaukee) came to fruition today, as Andretti-Green Racing confirmed that current Rahal-Letterman Racing driver Danica Patrick will join AGR beginning in 2007. Terms of the contract were not released, but Patrick joins Marco Andretti and Tony Kanaan on the team for 2007; the team is still undecided on whether Bryan Herta or Dario Franchitti will return in 2007. AGR co-owner Michael Andretti summed up the team's decision in this matter.......
Additional details of the team's decision were not released, including whether AGR will pick up any additional sponsors(rumor has it that Argent Mortgage, Patrick's current sponsor, may be unable due to contractual circumstances from leaving RLR and following over to AGR.... ) RLR spokesman/PR offical Brent Maurer released a short statement from RLR's Ohio-headquarters, stating.....Today is an exciting day for everyone at Andretti-Green Racing. Danica has shown great talent during her first two seasons in the IndyCar Series and has impressed Kim (Green), Kevin (Savoree) and myself with her development as a driver.
In concluding the announcement, AGR co-owner Michael Andretti added.....Danica has informed the team that she is leaving in 2007. We wish her the best on all her future endeavors.
Our focus has been and always will be on winning races and winning championships. We certainly believe Danica will do that. She has made it very clear that one of her goals as a driver is to win the Indianapolis 500 and we are looking forward to giving her a great opportunity to do that.