After five years of competing at NASCAR's top level for Stewart-Haas racing, Danica Patrick will be leaving the team at the end of the 2017 season. The separation has been rumored for months as part of an epic "silly season" of driver displacement -- the biggest the sport has undergone in more than a decade. Patrick has compiled a long list of firsts for a female driver during her five years in NASCAR and seven before that in IndyCar.

Patrick's first full season in NASCAR was in 2013. She entered the scene with a bang, winning the pole in the Daytona 500 and leading a lap before finishing eighth in the season-opening race. Patrick accomplished two firsts for a female driver that day, becoming the first woman to win a Cup level pole and the first to lead a lap in both the Daytona 500 and at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  

Over the next two years, while Patrick did not quite match her success in Indy's top level, she showed as a rookie and sophomore driver that she had the ability to make a successful season run and score top 10s.

Patrick released an official statement about her departure on her social media sites this week:

"It has been my honor to drive for Tony Stewart, Gene Haas, and everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing for the past six seasons," Patrick said. "Together we earned a Daytona 500 pole, seven top 10 finishes, and we also had some exciting racing along the way. My time driving for them, however, has come to an end due to a  new sponsorship arrangement in 2018.

"Sponsorship plays a vital role in our sport, and I have been very fortunate over the course of my career, but this year threw us for a curve. Our amazing partners, such as Aspen Dental and Code 3, stepped up in a big way on short notice this year and I am incredibly grateful.

"I wish SHR the best of luck with their new sponsorship and driver. Thanks for the memories. Right now, my focus is on the remainder of the 2017 season and finishing the year strong. I have the utmost faith in myself and those around me, and feel confident about my future."

With 10 races remaining in the 2017 season, Patrick will have that many more chances to bring the Stewart Haas Racing No. 10 to Victory Lane and become the first woman to win a Cup Series race.

Amid one of her worst seasons in NASCAR, Patrick's supporters have little hope of seeing that happen.

Patrick's possible departure from the sport would once again leave NASCAR a boy's club with no women high enough on the career ladder to take her place. While there are plenty of strong women elsewhere in the sport, it will take several years before we see a top team housing them.

Flo reached out to some past "Women in Racing" features to see what they think about Patrick's departure and the future of women in the sport.

Ahnna Parkhurst

Ahnna Parkhurst has been one of our favorite stories during the 2017 season. A 16-year-old girl racing and beating the boys in 602 and 604 class Late Models gives hope that women will be part of NASCAR's future. Parkhurst is connected to the right people in the sport, as she works with Shane-McDowell Racing. There, she gets irreplaceable tips and know how passed to her by veteran drivers. She's also associated to Richard Childress Racing through Ty and Austin Dillon.

"We are definitely having one of our better years in racing," Parkhurst said. "Our goal when we show up at the track is to unload fast and capitalize on all opportunities that we are presented with, which I believe we are doing! Right now I am on a streak of 12 top 10s in a row and we are looking to capitalize on that to end our season on a strong note in a few months."

With her connections to RCR, Parkhurst has never looked up to Patrick beyond the basic admiration of a woman who is accomplishing firsts in the league.

"With the support of Austin and Ty Dillon, as well as everyone else at RCR, I haven't much looked up to Danica," Parkhurst said. "However, I wish her luck in any new endeavors!"

Amber Balcaen

We first talked to Canadian driver Amber Balcaen in the spring shortly after her K&N schedule was terminated because her main sponsor pulled out after the first race of the season. Since then, Balcaen has been hustling to make industry contacts. She has become the new spokeswoman for Kal Tires in Canada and running a few Late Model races in the States. The first time she strapped back into the car, she proved to everyone watching that she still belonged, capturing the pole and then winning the feature in a local show.

"I hadn't been in the car in about four months, so to hop back in and get the pole and win right away was really great way of showing that I still belong on the track," Balcaen said. "It felt awesome. I just got out of my own head and enjoyed myself and did what I know that I needed to do. I hope with people seeing me outside of the car for so long and being able to hop back in and win will create some buzz around sponsorship. But right now I'm just focusing on getting everything together for the 2018 season."

While Balcaen stays focused on figuring out her next steps, she's certain that this is not the end of women racing at NASCAR's top level.

"Even though we're losing Danica in the Cup series, I still believe that there's a bunch of talented female drivers out here right now," Balcaen said. "I think there are a lot of us who deserve that shot to be in Danica's position. It's unfortunate that it all comes down to funding, but hopefully some company somewhere will see the value in a female driver and we'll get another female back in the Cup series.

"I think that NASCAR really needs females in the sport. They need the diversity and I think it's extremely important. I hope that everyone can step up and give another a female a chance and obviously I hope that's me."

Balcaen pointed out how Patrick has set herself up for departure from the sport by taking the time to start other business ventures. Patrick has teamed with HSN for a clothing line and has a new workout and healthy lifestyle book out at the end of 2017. Balcaen wants to mirror both aspects of Patrick's career, competing at a top level and following her own entrepreneurial spirit.

"It's very impressive and she's done so much for women in the sport I hope she's not done," Balcaen said. "I hope we see her in an IndyCar or something else, but I really respect her not only as a driver but as a business person. She's set herself up for success with her companies and I see myself as an entrepreneur as well. What she's built is something that I hope to mirror, to make it to the Cup series and have a good chunk of years there and then to retire with a few businesses of my own as well. I really respect her intelligence and her business savvy."

Hannah Zellers

Last time we talked to Hannah Zellers, she was unsure of her next step in racing. Zellers had been making her way up the open wheel ladder for several years, but this summer didn't see much opportunity presented to her in that side of the sport.

Over the past year, Zellers has been inching away from open wheel and toward NASCAR. After a few successful practice runs in invite-only events, Zellers will be starting in her first NASCAR K&N East race this weekend at New Jersey Motorpark. She's partnering with Jefferson Pitt Racing for this event. Starting on a road course will be the easier transition for the open wheel driver than strapping into a heavy stock car for the first time on an oval.

"It's going to be on a road course, so it should be difficult but not as difficult as running an oval where somebody may be at your door the whole time," she said. "I want to run as hard and as fast as I possibly can while being smart. A top five is the priority. My expectations are high, but I also need to be smart about it."

While the faces of motorsport at racing's top levels continue to change, we here at FloRacing are excited to see who will be the next woman to make her mark in NASCAR. Keep it locked here for more Women in Racing features.

Women in Racing

Kendra Jacobs 
Harli White 
Reagan May 
Paige Polyak (video) 
Sarah Montgomery 
Ahnna Parkhurst 
Toni & Annie Breidinger 
Fear The Handmaid's Series 
Amy Ruman 
Loni Unser