After months of speculation, NASCAR’s worst kept secret is finally official. Danica Patrick is coming to NASCAR.
Well, sort of.

Patrick will continue to race full-time for Andretti Autosports in the Izod IndyCar Series, while participating in a number of Nationwide Series events for JR Motorsports in 2010.

"I think when the idea came about a few years ago to run some NASCAR stuff,” Patrick said at a press conference at JR Motorsports last week. “It really was a thought, but I wasn't as prepared mentally as I am now. I think that the schedule doesn't intimidate me as much it used to. It's going to be a lot to learn. That's the real key part here is there is a lot to learn.”
"But it's about having good people around you as well. I feel like I've really put together a good team of people to manage all the other things that go on around me, both at track and away, and we're ready to go."

JR Motorsports has yet to announce the number of races Patrick will run in 2010, but has announced that she will make her debut with JR Motorsports at the February 6, 2010 ARCA ReMax Series race at Daytona International Speedway.
It is expected that Patrick will make her NASCAR debut the following weekend in the Daytona Nationwide race. A majority of the races that she will run in the Nationwide Series will be before and after the IndyCar Series, which runs from March 14 to October 2.

The first glimpse of Patrick in a stock car will be the December 18-20 ARCA test at Daytona. It’s been nearly seven years since Patrick was last behind the wheel of a stock car, she said.
"It was good fun," she said, when asked about her experience in a test at Greenville-Pickens Speedway. "I remember thinking compared to my open-wheel car, it didn’t stop very well, and I was like, ‘Are these brakes OK?’ But I had a lot of fun. I was definitely smiling that day."

"I’m very excited to have Patrick, the most popular driver in the IndyCar Series, coming over to NASCAR, and JR Motorsports is extremely proud to give her this opportunity," JR Motorsports general manager Kelley Earnhardt said. "She's obviously going to be in a competitive car … I think it's reasonable for her to be in the top 15 of the series when she's running. The first few races, we'll see what that brings."

JR Motorsports made an interesting announcement when naming Tony Eury, Jr. as Patrick’s crew chief. Eury Jr. was most recently the much-criticized crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr. before being relieved of his duties by Hendrick Motorsports mid-season.

Busch to field own trucks in 2010:

Kyle Busch announced that he plans to field two full-time entries in the Camping World Truck Series next season under his Kyle Busch Motorsports.

Busch plans to run in select race in the No. 18 Miccosukee Resort and Gaming Toyota Tundra. In non-companion races, Brian Ickler, Busch’s teammate for the past few seasons at Billy Ballew Motorsports, will pilot the No. 18.
Busch will also field a full-time entry for second-year CWTS driver Tyler Malsam.

Busch also said that if sponsorship is found, he also plans to field a full-time entry for 2008 Truck Series Champion Johnny Benson.

Busch purchased the assets of Xpress Motorsports to begin his team’s truck series program. Kyle Busch Motorsports already fields Late-Model entries throughout the United States.

Bruce Knoll, 17, of Eldora, can be contacted by email at bknoll jr4cmcherald@yahoo.com