Patrick to make NASCAR debut on Saturday

Reuters US Online Report Domestic News | 2010-02-08 14:02:34

<div><p>DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (Reuters) - IndyCar driver Danica Patrick will make her NASCAR debut at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, her team announced on Monday.</p><p>Patrick will drive for the first time on NASCAR's second-tier circuit, the Nationwide Series, after finishing a confidence-boosting sixth in Saturday's ARCA race that was her stock car debut.</p><p>"Racing in the Nationwide Series race was my goal during this entire two-month preparation process, but we wanted to make sure it was the right thing to do," Patrick, who plans to run a partial Nationwide schedule this year, said in a statement.</p><p>"The ARCA race was a blast, and I'm not ready for my first Daytona Speedweeks to end just yet."</p><p>JR Motorsports team general manager Kelley Earnhardt said she was impressed by Patrick's performance in the ARCA event, part of a regional stock car series that uses NASCAR-type cars.</p><p>"I think Danica proved to everyone that she can compete in stock cars at a high level," Earnhardt said.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=68689826&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>


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