Stewart looking for driver to split ride with Danica

Tony Stewart is searching for a driver and sponsor that will split the 2012 Sprint Cup schedule with Danica Patrick, who announced on Thursday she will drive eight to 10 races next year for Stewart-Haas Racing. The purpose would be to keep Patrick's car ranked in the top 35 in points, guaranteeing her and sponsor GoDaddy.com a spot in the starting lineup each week. "We'd love to,'' Stewart said Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway. "If we can put together a package to run somebody in the rest of the races we'd love to do that. It's in everybody's best interest to do that. It would be good for us as a team to be able to go ahead and run that car full-time if that opportunity presents itself.'' Among the drivers who have surfaced is Mark Martin, who is driving the GoDaddy.com Cup car for Hendrick Motorsports this season. Sources said the key for Martin would be finding a sponsor. GoDaddy.com CEO and founder Bob Parsons was noncommittal when asked if he would sponsor the remainder of the season for the third SHR car. Stewart said he has not set Patrick's Cup schedule yet, although Patrick said the odds of her debut coming in the 2012 Daytona 500 were good. ESPN