Roush, Hendrick shoot down Danica Patrick bidding rumor

Management representatives of IndyCar driver Danica Patrick are meeting with Sprint Cup team owners to gauge interest in Patrick moving to NASCAR.Officials at Roush Fenway Racing and Hendrick Motorsports spent part of Sunday putting down another Danica Patrick rumor. This one, from an Internet blogger, implied that the companies are fighting over the IndyCar driver. The story offered no proof, only that "sources" have said that Rick Hendrick apparently has beaten Jack Roush, and that Patrick will replace Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Geoff Smith, president of Roush Fenway Racing, acknowledged that International Management Group is polling Cup teams, gauging their interest in one of America's best-known racers. He said IMG hasn't visited Roush Fenway yet, but it will.

"They're talking to everybody over here, all the teams in the garage," Smith said Sunday. "We're in the loop, but we haven't scheduled a meeting yet. Maybe we'll have one pretty soon."

The process reminds some of the courting of high school athletes. "It's an expression of her interest inNASCAR," Smith said. "There are many questions to be answered. IMG is looking for opinions about the best approach for her and they're bringing their ideas about that. They're also getting a feel for what resistance there might be, what things they might have to work through. Like, can she run IRL races the same time she's running a NASCAR series? How many races in each series could she run? Things like that."

Team owner Jack Roush hasn't ruled her out as a potential driver. In his scenario, though, she'd spend a year or two in a lower-level series before trying Cup. Patrick has said she wants to start at the top of the next series if she leaves the Indy Racing League."

Hendrick Motorsports spokesman Jesse Essex took great exception to the story. "There is absolutely no truth to it," he said. "We were not given an opportunity to comment on the story prior to it being published. If we had, we would have said there's absolutely nothing to it. Nothing at all."

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