Danica Patrick confirmed Thursday she’ll wait until after Saturday’s ARCA Series race at Daytona to decide whether or not she’ll make her Nationwide Series debut the following weekend.
Danica Taking Wait-And-See Approach To Daytona Nationwide
Doing so would knock teammate Kelly Bires out of his ride for the weekend (JR Motorsports co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. is running the race at a sponsor’s request, leaving only one car for Bires or Patrick). Asked about how Bires will factor into her decision, Patrick said she was unsure.
“We haven’t really discussed that, so to be honest, I don’t really have an answer for that,” she said. “But I would be up for any discussion if we need to have it.”
Patrick said she’ll make the decision based on “feel” but said she wants to be smart most of all.
“There are guys that are going to be out for a championship next weekend in the Nationwide Series,” she said. “And obviously there’s the challenge of all those Cup guys out there too.
“It’s been recommended that it’s not the best idea to start there. And I’m not going to ignore the people that have given me advice.”
Danica was reminded by one reporter the ARCA race is typically a wreck-filled affair.
“I recently heard that it’s a crash-fest and I didn’t know that,” she said. “Now I do. I think that just makes me realize I need to be smart out there.”
Bires was not among the drivers scheduled to appear at NASCAR Media Day.
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