AGR confirm Patrick for 2007

AGR officials issued a statement shortly after noon EDT saying Patrick had signed a contract to join Tony Kanaan and Marco Andretti in AGR's lineup next season. It was not immediately clear if AGR drivers Dario Franchitti and Bryan Herta will return to the team in 2007.

Patrick, who declined to disclose terms of the contract, said her decision to join Andretti Green Racing was not an easy one.

"I thought a lot about it," she said on Tuesday after news of the decision was made public. "I looked at my future long and hard, and just tried to do what's best for that. If there's a team in the IRL that will help me win, this is where I want to be.

"Nobody has won more than Andretti Green in the Indy Racing League, so this is what's best for my career," she added.

"Today is an exciting day for everyone at Andretti Green Racing," team co-owner Michael Andretti said in the statement.

"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."

Patrick burst on the scene while driving to a fourth-place finish in the 2005 Indianapolis 500. Since then, she has received an enormous amount of attention from fans and media while coming close to winning an IRL IndyCar Series race for the first time.

She matched her career-best finish - fourth - in the last two IRL races, at Nashville and Milwaukee, and has won three pole positions in her 26 IRL races.

Other details of the deal, including potential sponsorships, were not immediately available. It also remained unclear how Patrick's move will affect Rahal Letterman Racing in 2007.

Team co-owner Bobby Rahal was quoted in an Edmonton paper last weekend as saying his team and those of Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi have a "50-50 chance" of returning to Champ Car if the two open-wheel series don't unify.

Rahal also has been discussing the possibility of putting his son, Graham, in a Newman/Haas ride next season in Champ Car.

Rahal Letterman officials released this statement Tuesday afternoon: "Danica has informed she is leaving. We wish her the best on her future endeavors."

Speculation and rumor about Patrick's future began to flourish after her father, T.J. Patrick, was seen at a NASCAR Nextel Cup race July 9th at Chicagoland Speedway.

Patrick acknowledged the following weekend that she had received at least one offer from a NASCAR team. At the same time, Andretti publicly acknowledged that he might be interested in hiring Patrick.

On July 16th, Indianapolis television station WXIN cited unnamed sources in its report that Patrick would sign with AGR. Until Tuesday, both sides had declined comment on the report, although Patrick did say that something was in the works and she wouldn't be going to NASCAR.

"Our focus has been and always will be on winning races and winning championships," Andretti said in Tuesday's statement.

"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."

Franchitti and Herta reach the end of their contracts with AGR when the season ends Sept. 10 at Chicagoland Speedway.

Both have expressed interest in the team's plans to field an entry next year in the American Le Mans Series.