BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Tony Stewart didn't want to talk about Danica Patrick on Friday. Nor did Dale Earnhardt Jr.
They certainly were more concerned about getting their cars ready for Sunday's Pure Michigan 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Michigan International Speedway.
But with reports circulating this week that Patrick will race for their teams in a move from IndyCar to NASCAR next season -- running fulltime on the Nationwide series and a limited Cup schedule -- Stewart and Earnhardt were asked about her anyway.
And they answered, sort of.
"There's nothing to tell yet," said Stewart, owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, the Cup team Patrick reportedly would join. "It's a lot of speculation. When there's something to talk about, we'll talk about it."
Patrick, who will drive in Saturday's Nationwide race in Montreal, reportedly will make her NASCAR announcement Wednesday in Phoenix. She also offered a no comment about her future Friday in Montreal. Patrick, who has driven part-time for Earnhardt's JR Motorsports for two years, has improved this season. She has three top-10s and finished fourth at Las Vegas in March.
"We've enjoyed working with her," said Earnhardt. "We would love to keep working with her. When there's something to announce, they'll announce it."
Earnhardt said he's really not the right person to ask about Patrick, anyway. That would be his sister Kelley Earnhardt, the team's co-owner and president.
"It's all Kelley, I haven't talk to Danica about it," Earnhardt. said. "People always used to say that I wasn't focused or I had too much going on. Now I just focus on racing this car and not being late" for things .
Still, Earnhardt said he likely would have some say in whether the team adds Patrick as a full-time driver in 2012.
"I like to think I have veto power," he said. "I've tried to exercise it a few times and sometimes it works. But sometimes it doesn't. My sister has the business sense. She went to college to learn about business. I trust her opinion."
Stewart and Ryan Newman are Stewart-Hass's only drivers. NASCAR's Cup power teams -- like Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing and Roush Fenway Racing -- have at least three cars. So employing one or two more drivers -- whether it's Patrick or not -- is something Stewart continues to pursue.
"We've said that from Day 1," said Stewart, who bought into the team in 2009. "We've never wavered from that. We're open to a third car, and we want to be a four-car team eventually."
Stewart and Earnhardt weren't the only ones asked about Patrick. Carl Edwards, who endured similar speculation recently before he signed a contract extension with Roush Fenway, also parried the question.
"You know what I am going to do, because of what I just learned with my contract?" said Edwards. "I am just going to wait and see what Danica has to say. That is what I am going to do."
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