DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Danica Patrick is expected to announce today whether she will enter the Nationwide Series race at Daytona International Speedway.
JR Motorsports has said it will be up to Patrick to decide whether she wants to make her NASCAR debut in Saturday’s second-tier series race at Daytona, and she wanted to wait until after her stock-car debut to make a final decision.
After she rallied from a midrace spin in Saturday’s ARCA event at Daytona to finish sixth, the buzz has been growing that Patrick will indeed enter the Nationwide race. Tony Eury Jr., her crew chief and part of the ownership group at JR Motorsports, said he would speak to Patrick on Sunday to make a decision.
“The cars are ready, if that’s what she wants to do,” he said. “If not, then we’ll come down with somebody else. But it would be a real pleasure for her to do it.”
Patrick has already announced that she’ll run the Feb. 20 race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., as part of a 12-race Nationwide schedule. There was room for a 13th race — Daytona — if she wanted.
“It really does come down to me, but I’m also listening to everyone around me,” Patrick said about the thought process.
