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| Patrick (34) was fast last season. |
Danica Patrick will pilot
Turner Scott Motorsports' third entry in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at
Daytona International Speedway. Patrick, who will compete in her second
full-time season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2014, will be behind
the wheel of the No. 30 Florida Lottery Chevrolet Camaro in the season-opening
DRIVE4COPD 300. Veteran crew chief Mike Greci will once again be calling the
shots from atop the pit box.
Patrick made her TSM debut
in last year's season opener and surged to an early lead before an electrical
failure forced her to retire early and resulted in a 36th-place finish. The
former IndyCar driver made her Nationwide Series debut at the 2.5-mile
superspeedway in 2010 and has six previous NNS starts in Daytona, with a best
finish of 10th (July, 2011). Patrick has three top-five NNS starts at the
Daytona Beach, Fla. track, including one pole award, which she earned in the
first race of the 2012 season. Patrick also earned the NSCS pole in the
February event at the track in 2013, ending the race with a solid eighth-place
finish.
Patrick, who is the first
woman in history to win an IndyCar race, has raced in a total of 60 NNS events,
completing one full-time season in 2012. The Roscoe, Ill. native also earned the
NASCAR Nationwide Series Most Popular Driver award following her first
full-time NNS campaign. In her first full-time season of NSCS competition,
Patrick finished the season with one top 10, one pole and was running at the
finish of 31 events. Patrick will be sponsored by the Florida Lottery for the
event, which has partnered with TSM in the past with drivers Ben Kennedy, James
Buescher and Nelson Piquet Jr.
"Danica Patrick's
immense popularity allows the Florida Lottery to increase awareness about our
sole reason for existing - which is increasing funding for education in
Florida," said Florida lottery Secretary Cynthia O'Connell. "In our
26 year history, Florida Lottery players have generated more than $26 billion
for education programs and more than 650,000 students have attended college
through the Bright Futures Scholarship Program. We are proud to partner with
Danica and Turner Scott Motorsports and are hopeful for a successful weekend at
Daytona International Speedway."
"I'm really looking forward
to competing in the Nationwide Series race at Daytona once again and driving
the No. 30 Florida Lottery Chevrolet Camaro," said Patrick.
"Turner Scott Motorsports is a great organization and I worked really well
with Mike Greci and the whole team in both of the races I did with them last
year. I know that I'm definitely capable of a win this year working with that
group, it just comes down to making it until the end. I have to thank the
Florida Lottery for coming on board; they're giving me the opportunity to run
this race and to support education in the State of Florida."
Turner Scott Motorsports
heads to Daytona International Speedway as a previous winner of the February
race; 2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion James Buescher claimed his
first NNS win at the season opener in 2012. Patrick will partner with TSM
teammates Kyle Larson and Dylan Kwasniewski for the 300-mile event.
"We are so happy to
announce that Danica will be returning to TSM in Daytona," said team
co-owner Harry Scott Jr. "We think a lot of Danica and she was a very
strong competitor in both of the races that she ran for us last year.
Restrictor-plate racing is tough, but she's shown a lot of skill at Daytona in
the past. I have no doubt that she has everything it takes to bring our car to Victory
Lane.
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