JR Motorsports general manager Kelley Earnhardt has announced the 2011 Nationwide Series schedule for Danica Patrick. She will run a total of 12 events.
The Andretti Autosport IndyCar racer's sophomore NASCAR tour will closely resemble her rookie campaign in that she will compete in a cluster of races on the front and back ends of the Nationwide schedule, while also appearing in select races during the middle parts of the year. Patrick's longtime backer GoDaddy.com will serve as primary sponsor for 11 of the 12 races with Patrick on the No. 7 Chevrolet.
Patrick will compete in the first four Nationwide races – Daytona (Feb. 19), Phoenix (Feb. 26), Las Vegas (March 5) and Bristol (March 19). She will then focus on IndyCars before returning to NASCAR at Chicagoland (June 4), Daytona (July 1), Montreal (Aug. 20), Richmond (Sept. 9), and Kansas (Oct. 8). Patrick will conclude her second NASCAR season with the final three races on the Nationwide schedule – Texas (Nov. 5), Phoenix (Nov. 12) and Homestead (Nov. 19).
"This is going to be an exciting year in the No. 7 Chevrolet," said Patrick, who scored a best finish of 19th in the 2010 finale at Homestead (where she started fifth). "I have a much different perspective heading into this season. I know a little more of what to expect, and I'm not as out of my element. I've had a year to work with my team, and there is a comfort level that comes with returning to some of these tracks. It's obvious experience goes a long way in this sport."
Tracks that were not on Patrick's 2010 schedule, but are among her 2011 plans, are Bristol, Richmond, Kansas and Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve road course. Patrick has raced at Richmond and Kansas in the IZOD IndyCar Series.