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HAMPTON, Ga. -- He doesn't know when, and he's not sure in what capacity. But Tony Stewart firmly believes that ultimately, open-wheel star Danica Patrick will end up in NASCAR.
Patrick, easily the most popular driver on the IndyCar circuit, visited the Stewart-Haas Racing shop for a second time earlier this week to continue her fact-finding mission into stock-car racing. She sat down with Stewart, who made a similar transition a decade ago, and the current Sprint Cup points leader came away convinced that Patrick will eventually make the move to NASCAR.
"I can pretty much guarantee you that at some point she's going to be over here," Stewart said Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, site of Sunday night's race.
"I know that's what she wants to do. She looked me straight in the eye and said, 'This is what I want to do, it looks like fun. It looks like a lot of work, but it looks like fun.' I don't think she has some misguided idea that it's going to be easy doing it. She wants to do it the right way. She has he intentions of doing everything right. She's kind of come to us to see how she should go about it."
Stewart said he's come to know Patrick through various personal services deals and that the open-wheel driver came to him for advice, and not necessarily for a ride. He doesn't field an entry in the Nationwide Series -- the tour Patrick would most likely start out in -- and he reiterated Saturday that it's too late in the season to expand to a third Sprint Cup program for next year. During the visit Monday the two drivers talked about more fundamental matters, such as Stewart giving Patrick examples of where her seat needed to be in the bulkier, heavier stock car.
Patrick, fifth in IndyCar points and with one career victory in the series, is in the final year of her contract with Andretti-Green Racing. Team owner Michael Andretti told reporters last week that he was confident of re-signing Patrick. But even if she returned to the open-wheel ranks in 2010, the 17-race IndyCar schedule would leave plenty of room for Patrick to dip a toe into NASCAR if she so wishes. That's exactly what Stewart did in 1997 and '98, when he competed in a number of then-Busch events while still running the full IndyCar slate. The next season, he moved to NASCAR exclusively.
"She wants to know how to make the transition, I think, more than anything," he said. "She's trying to put together her [IndyCar] deal and trying to figure out how to transition that into NASCAR. I think she's trying to do it the right way. She's not just cutting the cord and jumping in a car she's unfamiliar with. She wants to stay successful where she's at, but in the meantime try to figure out a way to be able to drive and get some seat time in a car where she can start learning, so when she does come out she's got her act together."
Losing Patrick would be a huge blow for the IndyCar series. She is easily the circuit's biggest draw, and even IndyCar series officials are reportedly working to try and keep her in the fold. Stewart doesn't believe Patrick is using a potential NASCAR opportunity for leverage in her IndyCar contract negotiations.
"I know that she's serious about it," he said. "... I think she really wants to do it, it's just trying to figure out the time frame and what steps should she take to be able to do it right, and to show everybody that she wants to do it the right way."
That would likely mean starting out in the Nationwide Series. Patrick's stock-car experience is extremely limited, and Stewart said she's learned from watching other open-wheelers who tried and failed to jump into NASCAR's premier circuit right away. He added that Patrick wouldn't be opposed to starting out in a lower series.
"Absolutely. You've got to learn before you get here. All three of the national series, even the Truck Series, are competitive. Juan [Montoya] was kind of the exception to the rule, and even Juan ran some ARCA races and some Nationwide races before he went into Cup full-time. You've got to get used to a heavier race car. You've got to get used to less downforce, smaller tires. It's a lot of learning. It's a lot of race tracks that you have to get used to. It's sensory overload, and that's why you have to pay your dues before you get to this level," he said.
"The great thing is, she asked a lot of very smart questions in the discussion about it. You can tell that she wants to do it the right way. She understands how hard everybody's worked to get to this level, and she doesn't want to be one of those people who just comes in and gets stuff handed to her. She wants to earn her own way and work her way up like everybody else has."
Stewart's not sure of exactly when Patrick may make an initial foray into NASCAR. But he believes it's going to happen. And he welcomes it.
"I'd love to see her come [to NASCAR]," he said. "I think it would be awesome for our sport if she were to come out here and be successful."
D) The other part is that she will be the third car .I find it interesting she's spending time with Tony (getting advice 
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