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Danica Patrick's primary sponsor from 2016 absent from her media day firesuit

nick bromberg
Senior writer
You'll notice Nature's Bakery isn't on Patrick's firesuit. (Getty)
You’ll notice Nature’s Bakery isn’t on Patrick’s firesuit. (Getty)

Apparently not all is going to plan on the sponsor front for Danica Patrick.

Patrick appeared at Tuesday’s media activities in a firesuit sponsored by TaxAct, a company that sponsored Patrick in four races in 2016. Why is this noteworthy? Well, Patrick was sponsored by Nature’s Bakery in over 20 races last season, the first year of a multi-year sponsorship agreement between Stewart-Haas Racing and the company.

When the absence of Nature’s Bakery on Patrick’s firesuit was noticed by those in attendance at Tuesday’s media day, SHR responded with a statement. From ESPN:

“Nature’s Bakery and Stewart-Haas Racing are in discussions about how the sponsorship might look in 2017. Both sides have options, and it’s a matter of determining what is best for both parties.

“Stewart-Haas Racing remains focused on its preparation for the 2017 NASCAR season.”

Nature’s Bakery was touted as a natural — no pun intended — fit for Patrick, who has made healthy living a central tenant of her public persona. But the announcement that it would sponsor Patrick was a bit of a surprise. The company, founded in 2010, had sales of approximately $100 million in 2014. It costs hundreds of thousands per race to be a primary sponsor of a major Cup Series car.

The company replaced GoDaddy, Patrick’s longtime primary sponsor. The web-hosting company left motorsports marketing after the 2015 season.

If Nature’s Bakery needs to pull back its sponsorship in 2017, Stewart-Haas will likely have some inventory to sell on her car. In addition to TaxAct, Aspen Dental also served as a primary sponsor for Patrick.

And the team is already in the midst of an urgent sponsor hunt for one of its other drivers. Clint Bowyer, replacing Tony Stewart in the No. 14 car in 2017, doesn’t have sponsorship lined up for the full season.

Patrick was 24th in the points standings in 2016, unchanged from her career-best points finish in 2015.

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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!