Catchfence

Danica Patrick will “all but certainly” be in NASCAR in 2010, but won’t give up Indy car racing and will limit next year’s activity to the Nationwide Series and Trucks, according to a source very close to the situation.

Tony Stewart is the “star candidate” to be her partner and mentor in NASCAR, the source said, adding that Patrick’s recent visits to Stewart-Haas Racing were much more than social — that she and Stewart were discussing a deal, and are close to one.

“I can pretty much guarantee at some point she’s going to be over here,” Stewart told reporters Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, meaning NASCAR in general and hinting at something the source confirmed and clarified.

The plan is for Patrick to run a significant number of Nationwide races, with additional seat time in Trucks and ARCA cars. Stewart took a similar transitional path to NASCAR in 1998, running a full Indy car schedule and also 22 Nationwide (then Busch) races.

Patrick’s likeliest first stock car race would be the ARCA event at Daytona during SpeedWeeks next February.

- ESPN