Daytona Beach, FL, United States (AHN Sports) – Other than the juggling of the rules packages the biggest excitement of NASCAR Preseason Thunder testing over the last three days was the arrival of Danica Patrick. Patrick will wheel Tony Stewart’s No. 10 Chevrolet in 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races this season while also driving fulltime in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for Dale Earnhardt Jr. The former IZOD IndyCar Series star was at Daytona International Speedway in preparation for the Sprint Cup’s season opener, the Daytona 500 on Feb. 26.
“Obviously, it’s the biggest race of the year,” she said. “I’d really like to run well, and I don’t just want to be here, I want to run well.”Stewart, owner of Patrick’s Stewart-Haas Cup ride, has taken an active role in Patrick’s development by hand-picking her crew chief, Greg Zipadelli, the man who helped him to a pair of Cup titles while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing. Zipadelli will double as Stewart-Haas Racing’s competition director while calling the shots atop Patrick’s pit box for 10 races this season.
“It’s a smart decision for us to have somebody like him who can work with Danica and know how to go through those learning processes and how to help with that,” Stewart said. “So really, we get the best of both worlds with Greg.”Stewart could transfer his 2011 points to Patrick’s car to guarantee she’ll make the Daytona 500. She will become the third female driver to compete in NASCAR’s biggest event. Janet Guthrie started the 500 in 1977 and 1980 and Shawna Robinson in 2002.