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Nationwide heads to Calif. with round two of Danica-mania

Tue 16th, February 2010

Fontana, CA (Sports Network) - Series: NASCAR Nationwide. Date: Saturday, February 20. Race: Stater Bros. 300. Site: Auto Club Speedway. Track: two-mile oval. Start time: 5:30 p.m. (et). Laps: 150. Miles: 300. 2009 winner: Kyle Busch. Television: ESPN 2. Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio.

Danica-mania, part two.

Once again, Danica Patrick will be the center of attention in the garage this weekend at California where she will compete in her second Nationwide Series race.

Patrick originally scheduled California as her first Nationwide start, but after a stellar performance in the February 6 ARCA race at Daytona, she decided to make her NASCAR debut one week earlier. Patrick finished 35th in the DRIVE4COPD after getting caught up in a 12-car wreck on Lap 68.

While McMurray celebrates his Daytona 500 victory with several obligations in Los Angeles this week, Patrick will do the same in "La La Land" prior to NASCAR's weekend at California. She will appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and The Bonnie Hunt Show on Wednesday. CNN and The CBS Evening News have scheduled a taping session with Patrick, with the segments airing on future dates. Late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel will have her as one of his guests on Thursday.

This will not be the first time Patrick has raced at California. She competed there during her sensational 2005 rookie season in the IndyCar Series. Patrick started fourth and finished 18th in the series' season finale that year. IndyCar has not run at California since then.

Patrick will be in the spotlight at California, but Joe Gibbs Racing will try to keep its winning streak alive there this weekend. Gibbs has won the last four Nationwide Series races there with drivers Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Tony Stewart. Busch won back-to-back races at California from August 2008 to February 2009. Logano took the checkered flag there last October, and Stewart picked up the victory in the spring 2008 event when he drove for Gibbs.

Logano and Busch will compete in the 300-mile race this weekend.

Busch, the 2009 Nationwide champion, made NASCAR history at California one year ago. He became the first driver to win a Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series race on the same day. The truck event there was schedule for Friday, but rain pushed it back to Saturday.

The Truck Series is not running at California in 2010, instead choosing to run at Pocono on July 31.

Kenseth has the most Nationwide victories at California with four, followed by his Roush Fenway Racing teammate Biffle with three.

Kevin Harvick, who grew up in nearby Bakersfield, CA, has yet to win a Nationwide race at his hometrack. Harvick has finished 11th or better in each California race since 2001. His best finish there is second, which came in 2005.

"I think it would be a cool place to win just for the fact that we've run really good there over the past few years and have never been able to close the deal and get it done," he said.

Fifty teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Stater Bros. 300.