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(AP) -- Danica Patrick could win her stock car debut at
Saturday's ARCA race at Daytona and still decide to bypass the
Nationwide Series opener there a week later.

 The IndyCar star said Wednesday that "it's going to have to be
a pretty stellar weekend" to convince her to make her NASCAR debut
in the second-tier series Feb. 13 at Daytona. Her decision hinges
less on where she finishes than on how she handles the many
challenges unique to NASCAR.

 JR Motorsports said last week that Patrick would race at least
12 NASCAR events this season but left the first one up in the air.
Daytona would be a daunting task with its field of more than a
dozen Sprint Cup regulars.

 Otherwise, Patrick will make her debut the following week in
Fontana, Calif.

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