Danica Patrick switches from Indy Cars to NASCAR full time (50 Photos, Videos)

Its official, Danica Patrick, 29, signed a contract with GoDaddy.com and chairman Bob Parsons to run NASCAR next year in a GoDaddy race car.

Patrick signed the contract in front of TV cameras and cheering company employees just yesterday. 

Click here to watch Patrick announce her decision to drive NASCAR full time.

While some critics say she switched from Indy cars to NASCAR for the money, Patrick says no way.  'If it was about money, I'd have gone a long time ago,' Patrick said from GoDaddy's offices in north Scottsdale. 'I just go where my heart tells me, where my gut tells me to go, where I'm enjoying my life the most, where I feel like I can have the most success.

Jeff Gordon said Patrick has plenty to prove in NASCAR while living up to the expectations being set on her. "I think Danica still has to prove herself from a performance standpoint, Gordan said.  “She's, I think, impressed a lot of people in some of her performances this year. But I think she still has a long way to go.”

Gordon's Hendrick Motorsports team-mate Dale Earnhardt Jr, who will run Patrick full-time in the Nationwide Series next season said there's plenty of criticism towards Patrick but said she doesn’t let it get to her. "She faces a lot of tough criticism and she does a good job of handling it," Earnhardt said. "I think she does a good job of keeping a good attitude, not letting that kind of stuff change the person you are. She knows what she is here to do.

Photos – 50 Photographs – Danica Patrick – GoDaddy Racing.

Video – Watch Danica Patrick’s 2009 Sports Illustrated bathing suit video.

More about Danica Patrick:

Born in March 1982, Patrick started in kart racing and later raced Formula Ford in England before moving back to the U.S. and moving up to IndyCars.

Patrick was named the Rookie of the Year for both the 2005 Indianapolis 500 and the 2005 IndyCar Series season.  It was her fourth place finish at the 2005 Indy 500 that put her in the record books as the highest finish ever for a female driver. With her win in the 2008 Indy Japan 300, Patrick became the first woman to win an Indy car race.