Danica Will Make NASCAR Debut at Daytona on Saturday

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- After a top-10 taste of stock car racing over the weekend, Danica Patrick has decided to accelerate her learning curve and will enter Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide Series season-opener at Daytona International Speedway.

Patrick announced her decision Monday, two days after finishing sixth at Daytona in an 80-lap race in the ARCA Series, which is an entry-level, training series for many drivers. The Nationwide Series is NASCAR's version of Triple-A baseball and a significant step up.

"Racing in the Nationwide Series race was my goal during this entire two-month preparation process,'' Patrick said, "but we wanted to make sure it was the right thing to do.

"The ARCA race was a blast and I'm not ready for my first Daytona Speedweeks to end just yet. I want more racing."

There is no doubt that her participation in the Drive4COPD 300 will be a different experience for Patrick, who was originally scheduled to begin a slate of 12 Nationwide Series races at California Speedway on Feb. 20.

This race will feature a large complement of marquee Sprint Cup Series drivers, who get big sponsorship deals to compete in this particular event on the famed Daytona high banks. And that will include her JR Motorsports team co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr, who will run a second car for the team.

"I think Danica proved to everyone that she can compete in stock cars at a high level and right now seat time is extremely important,'' JR Motorsports co-owner Kelley Earnhardt, Dale's sister, said.

"She has worked extremely hard during the past two months for this opportunity. Her dedication and work ethic is infectious.''

Patrick has insisted all along that her decision to compete in the Daytona Nationwide Series race would depend largely on how comfortable she felt in the ARCA race.

She certainly turned heads with her debut, rallying from 24th place with 19 laps to go to cross the finish line sixth. Contact with another car sent her No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet spinning across the track and on a wild ride through the infield grass. But Patrick collected the car and rejoined the field, setting the stage for the dramatic late-race comeback. She ran as high as fifth earlier in the race.

Patrick insisted after the race that she hadn't even thought about the Nationwide race at that point; however, her crew chief, Tony Eury Jr., indicated the car had already been prepared, as if she would be driving.

Patrick, who will still compete full time in the IZOD IndyCar Series, will be guaranteed a starting position in the first three Nationwide Series events because the team acquired points from the CJM Racing team's No. 11 entry, that finished 15th in owner points in 2009.