Daytona 500 Qualifying: NASCAR Opener an Important Step for Danica Patrick

Hope springs eternal for the whole of the NASCAR Spring Cup Series heading into the Daytona 500, though perhaps no single driver has more riding on the biggest event in stock car racing than Danica Patrick.

The former IndyCar star will make her debut as a full-time stock card driver in Daytona Beach after spending the last two years splitting her time between motor sports, with her other foot planted in the Nationwide Series. Patrick is scheduled to run in 10 Spring Cup Series races this season along with the complete slate of Nationwide events as a member of the Stewart-Haas racing team in the No. 10 GoDaddy.com car.

That, of course, includes the upcoming event in Daytona, the first of her career in the storied race in the Sunshine State. The Daytona 500 will serve as the perfect opportunity for Patrick to show that she has what it takes to hang with the big boys on one of the biggest stages in all of motor sports. She's shown the wherewithal to last through such a long race under the brightest of lights in the past, having competed at the Indy 500, albeit as an open-wheel driver.

And if or when Patrick is in need of guidance, advice and reassurance from a successful peer, she need only turn to team owner Tony Stewart, who captured his third Cup Series title last year after a sprint to the finish with Carl Edwards.

Nonetheless, there figures to be a significant period of adjustment for Patrick, whose experience behind the wheel of a stock car still pales in comparison to that of her competitors. A good showing at Daytona, though, would go a long way toward getting her off on the right track as she embarks on the next chapter of her highly publicized racing career.

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