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Strictly un-official, there will be a lottery system for those desiring to purchase Danica merchandise/memorabilia at the tracks.............
Auto Week update: Note the quote...........
Danica Patrick confirmed her NASCAR plans on Tuesday but not her full schedule. But we know this much: Patrick will drive stock cars for JR Motorsports, which is owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Rick Hendrick, and focus on her Izod IndyCar Series job.
Patrick will get her first stock-car test on Dec. 18-20 at Daytona International Speedway in an ARCA car, since NASCAR testing at the track is not permitted until next year. Patrick’s first taste of competition will be on Feb. 6 in the ARCA race at Daytona. Like her Indy car, the green-orange-and-black No. 7 stock car will be sponsored by GoDaddy.com, which already has a relationship with Earnhardt. Earnhardt’s cousin and former crew chief, Tony Eury Jr., will head Patrick’s Chevrolet crew.
Earnhardt’s sister, Kelley, who is the team’s vice president and general manager, said it “is reasonable” for Patrick to compete for top-15 finishes in her Nationwide Series races. The team has won nine races in the series since its formation in 2005.
Patrick, 27, has a three-year contract to drive for Michael Andretti’s IndyCar team, but only the first two years are guaranteed. The third year is an option for both parties. Patrick is the only woman to have won an Indy-car race. That feat came in April 2008 at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit in Japan. Patrick finished fifth in this year’s IndyCar standings.
After her first test, Patrick said she wants Hendrick Motorsports’ other drivers on the track to show her how stock-car racing differs from the IndyCar Series.
“I need them to bump me around a little bit to see what it’s like,” she said.
Patrick’s NASCAR schedule figures to include about a dozen events, primarily before and after the IndyCar season. She is expected to have only a couple in-season and none during May, when she concentrates on the Indianapolis 500.
AutoWeek | Updated: 12/08/09, 4:01 pm et
Article URL:
http://autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...SCAR/912089991
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