Danica Patrick will not drive the 2012 Indy 500

Danica Patrick told media members Monday that she will not be driving in the Indy 500 this year but she did not rule out the possibility that she will do so in the future. She said she will instead drive the Coca Cola 600 Sprint Cup race Memorial Day weekend in Charlotte. Patrick joined Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman and their three crew chiefs to field questions at the 30th annual Sprint Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Patrick, who will drive 10 Sprint Cup races for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) in 2012, will also drive a full Nationwide schedule for JR Motorsports.

Stewart-Haas Racing also announced Monday that Aspen Dental has signed a multi-year deal to become a primary sponsor of the No. 39 team and Ryan Newman.  The company will be the primary sponsor of SHR’s No. 39 team with driver Ryan Newman at the July Sprint Cup race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and the September event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.

This year, credentialed participants representing countries as far as the Netherlands and Germany as well as states throughout America, will preview the 2012 racing season with race shop tours, interviews with drivers, crew chiefs and team owners, as well as announcements from teams in NASCAR’s top divisions and the NHRA thanks to support from Sprint and NASCAR.