And while Jack Roush, the founder and co-owner of the organization, said that he was not part of the conversation, he also said Friday from Talladega Superspeedway that he believes Patrick has an interest in eventually pursuing a future that would include at least some stock-car racing. He even offered to lay out a program for her indoctrination into NASCAR.

"I think Danica, from what I understand, has got an interest in stock-car racing," Roush said. "Any sponsor, any team owner that felt the need to have more of a diverse situation in their driving lineup would look at Danica very favorably."

But that statement from Roush came accompanied by a warning -- not only to Patrick but to all other drivers who might be thinking about attempting the transition from open-wheel racing to NASCAR's top series.

"Any driver that presumes that they can sit in and drive one of these NASCAR cars needs to think long and hard about whether they've really prepared themselves for the experience," Roush said. "I don't know. I'm of the opinion that unless you've been successful in a number of different venues on a professional level, or you've spent time in our Craftsman Truck Series or our Nationwide cars, I would find it hard to imagine that you'd really be ready to get into a Cup car." NASCAR.com