MOORESVILLE, N.C.—Danica Patrick will compete in 12 Nationwide Series races with the possibility of 13 in her debut season with JR Motorsports, the team announced Thursday.
The only event uncertain on Patrick’s schedule is the Feb. 13 season opener at Daytona International Speedway. The No. 7 Chevrolet is entered in the event, but its driver will not be determined until after Patrick competes in the ARCA event on Feb. 6.
Beyond Daytona, Patrick’s 2010 campaign is confirmed starting with the Feb. 20 race at Auto Club Speedway and the Feb. 27 race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Following Vegas, Patrick will take a four-month hiatus to focus on her IndyCar Series responsibilities before returning to drive June 26 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
“Like I’ve said before, we just want to be smart and calculative about this process,” Patrick said in a team release. “The tracks we’ve selected not only compliment the IndyCar schedule, but will give me quality seat time at a variety of facilities.”
While Patrick’s participation in the Daytona race is to be determined, JR Motorsports will still field two cars for the Nationwide Series season opener. Due to sponsorship reallocation for the upcoming season, Dale Earnhardt Jr. will drive the No. 88 Chevrolet in place of Kelly Bires in what is the first of two scheduled races for the JRM co-owner. Bires will return to the seat of the No. 88 Chevy the following week at Auto Club Speedway and could be called upon to drive the No. 7 Chevrolet at Daytona should Patrick not compete in that event.
“We want to give Danica the best opportunity to compete at Daytona, and that includes making sure she is 100 percent comfortable in that driver’s seat,” said Kelley Earnhardt, JRM co-owner and general manager.
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