It was widely assumed that Danica Patrick and her JR Motorsports team were waiting to see how how she fared in her stock car racing debut in this Saturday's ARCA race at Daytona before deciding whether she would run the NASCAR Nationwide Series opener there a week later. However, the IndyCar star said Wednesday that her showing in this weekend's race would not necessarily be the deciding factor.
"[Winning] doesn't mean that I'm ready for that race," Patrick told the Associated Press. "Maybe I didn't get put in very many tough situations. I'll have to feel comfortable in all situations,
"It's a much different animal from the Daytona 500 weekend, with 30 Cup drivers and more cars and more experience,” she added of the ARCA event. “Every level you step up, if you're not prepared, it's just exponentially harder. It's going to have to be a pretty stellar weekend."
If Patrick opts to skip Daytona's Nationwide race, she is still scheduled to make her series debut the following week at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. Her JR Motorsports team said last week that Patrick would race at least 12 Nationwide events this season.