Danica Patrick's Nationwide education continues at Dover

Racing fans hoping Danica Patrick will climb out of her Nationwide Series race car tomorrow at Dover International Speedway and exclaim "NASCAR, I'm in full time!" will be disappointed.

Patrick's stock-car learning curve will continue at the Delaware racetrack and into next year.

Referring to her part-time Nationwide racing schedule this year, Patrick said in a telephone interview yesterday, "We're going to do the same thing next year and then assess where we are."

Patrick, 11th in the IndyCar series points standings, has dipped her toes into the stock-car waters this year to see whether she might eventually switch to NASCAR full time. She's also racing today at Dover in the Sunoco 150 K & N Pro East Series.

Patrick added today's 4:45 p.m. event primarily to gain experience racing stock cars on Dover's banked 1-mile oval.

"There isn't that much practice time here for the Nationwide cars," she said, explaining the decision to race today. "We're getting up to speed. This is a challenging track."

Patrick quickly learned earlier this year that the transition from lighter, faster open-wheel race cars to stock cars isn't easy. Her average finish in six Nationwide races is 30.5 (best finish: 24th, at Chicagoland Speedway).

"It's definitely been a humbling experience," she said. "I guess I thought I'd have better results by now. Those times when we had chances for better results, we ended up crashing."

Patrick, 28, stressed that the crashes were not her fault.

"It's been a learning process," she said. "We're hoping for better results [soon]."

Sam Hornish Jr., a former Indianapolis 500 winner, preceded Patrick into stock-car racing. Now in his third season driving the No. 77 Dodge for Penske Racing, Hornish is still struggling. He's 27th in points. He has led laps in recent races, but Hornish's best finish of the year was 10th Sunday at New Hampshire.

Racing for JR Motorsports, Patrick is scheduled for six more Nationwide appearances this year after Dover.

Patrick has been pleased with her reception in NASCAR by the drivers, crews and fans.

"People have been so great," she said. "The drivers are all so nice and generous. I couldn't feel more welcome. Tony [Eury Jr.] is a great crew chief. He's very patient and smart."

Patrick was asked whether she's encountered a language barrier, in stock-car speak and perhaps Southern accents.

Laughing, Patrick replied, "I don't understand all the time. But when I raced in England, I had to decode that accent."

Early in the year, she received a text message from Eury reading "104." It wasn't until Dale Earnhardt Jr. texted her "ten four" that she understood what Eury meant.

Ryan Truex, younger brother of Sprint Cup series racer Martin Truex Jr., can clinch his second consecutive K & N Pro Series title just by starting today's Dover race. Truex has an 118-point lead over Darrell Wallace Jr. *

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