Danica Patrick stands next to her No. 7 Chevrolet entry for her foray into stock cars. Patrick is bracing for a massive transition after five years in the IndyCar Series.

QUICK QUESTION QUICK QUESTION WOMEN IN NASCAR WOMEN IN NASCAR A look at women who have notched top-10 finishes in NASCAR's three major racing series: Driver Series Years Starts Top-10s Janet Guthrie Sprint Cup 1976-80 33 5 Patty Moise Nationwide 1986-98 133 4 Sara Christian Sprint Cup 1949-50 7 2 Diane Teel Nationwide 1982-86 11 2 Shawna Robinson Nationwide 1991-2005 61 1 Tina Gordon Nationwide 2001-04 14 1 Source: NASCAR Dale, meet Danica. Welcome to a world where a woman can model bikinis in swimsuit magazines, unveil a perfume line in a testosterone-charged arena and blaze a trail by leading the world's biggest race. Danica, meet Dale. Welcome to a world where a driver races on national television every week, fans are renowned for fervent brand loyalty and Fortune 500 sponsors remain plentiful despite the economic downturn. The NASCAR marriage of Dale Earnhardt Jr., the most popular driver, and Danica Patrick, IndyCar's transcendent queen, is as much about perfect timing as gargantuan personalities. NASCAR, plagued by lagging TV ratings and crowds, gets a popularity jolt, and Patrick gains millions of eyeballs to dazzle with her emerging brand as "a beautiful revolution." GALLERY: Danica's career in photos Q&A: Full transcript of Danica interview ANOTHER DANICA?: Kelley Earnhardt looks back It could be an ideal union — where one completes the other. "She could be awesome for our sport," says Earnhardt, whose team would have virtually no sponsorship absent Patrick. "I've always been lucky enough to thrive under pressure," Patrick told USA TODAY after last week's announcement. "... I hope to kick butt right away." Patrick, who last year became the first woman to win an oval race in a national series and has the highest finish and only laps led by a woman in the Indianapolis 500, is attempting a crossover to bulky, full-fendered stock cars from nimble, open-wheel vehicles. It's a shift that's been daunting for more accomplished drivers, the last being two-time IndyCar champ Dario Franchitti. But in making a part-time move to the second-tier Nationwide Series for likely a dozen races (while continuing full time in IndyCar with Andretti Autosport), Patrick joins a circuit whose ratings, though smaller than the premier Sprint Cup Series, dwarf IndyCar. Nationwide races are on ESPN, while IndyCar moved most of its races to Versus last year. She also will be driving for JR Motorsports (co-owned by Earnhardt and his sister Kelley), which receives engines and technology from Hendrick Motorsports, which has won four consecutive Sprint Cup titles with Jimmie Johnson. The challenge starts this weekend for Patrick, who will test a Chevy at Daytona International Speedway for a debut in minor-league ARCA (Automobile Racing Club of America) on Feb. 6. That debut comes the day before she appears in two Super Bowl ads, the hallowed ground that once belonged to Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon in NASCAR. It's coming at the right time for Patrick, 27, who is mapping out a career after racing. This year she turned her business and racing affairs over to IMG, a global sports-marketing behemoth that works with athletes such as Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning to build a portfolio of lucrative endorsements and ancillary product lines. IMG already has hooked Patrick a deal with Mattel. Though sponsor GoDaddy.com likely will market Patrick with edgy commercials counter to the more staid corporate image projected by Cup drivers, NASCAR could mark "a great platform for Danica," IMG President George Pyne says. The upside is high both ways. "They can position her as girl next door, a woman in a man's world, a competitor with a temper," says William Sutton, a professor of sports management at the University of Central Florida. "She'll be a huge personality." A hero for female fans As Kelley Earnhardt hammered out Patrick's contract, her daughter, Kayson, caught wind and got excited. Not because Patrick was a driver, but because Patrick was in a "Got Milk!" ad from a Miley Cyrus magazine owned by Kayson, 9. "For my daughter's age, it's inherent nature women aren't supposed to be as competitive," Earnhardt says. "I see a role model in Danica. Young females could gravitate to that." According to NASCAR fan demographics, 40% are women, and Patrick offers plenty beyond the wheel. "Danica For Her" perfume will be launched next spring, and Patrick's likeness has been used with a Barbie doll. "I embrace that role," says Patrick, whose long-term goals include a clothing line. "There's nothing more rewarding than seeing kids excited to meet you because they're just so pure." Patrick concedes her on-track persona can be less than ladylike. She has stomped away after running out of gas and hasn't backed down from tiffs, slapping one driver (Jaques Lazier) and smacking another's helmet (Rafael Matos). "I have a lot of passion that could be perceived as temper," she says. Such emotion is welcomed in NASCAR, which has been encouraging drivers to express themselves after complaints the sport has been whitewashed by sponsor-driven political correctness. Sutton says Patrick could "fill that void ... because she gets upset she doesn't win, and sports fans relate to that." Lesa France Kennedy, a member of NASCAR's board of directors, says Patrick has a competitive fire "that'll broaden our fan base. She's dynamic, interesting and very, very bright. She'd be a head turner." Earnhardt, who drives for Hendrick, suggests Patrick's entry into NASCAR's conservative environs might mean sponsors "change up their marketing. Some of that stuff is a little crazy." In commercials for Boost Mobile and GoDaddy, Patrick has been surrounded by scantily clad men and women (some ads were relegated to the Internet). She says the new Super Bowl ads play off her "as the strait-laced one put out by these crazy girls. ... I'm not very funny, but I like to pretend I am. It's part of my brand." Patrick has several personal endorsements (including watchmaker Tissot, Peak antifreeze and Kaenon sunglasses), and experts say NASCAR could build her marketing portfolio. "GoDaddy has an edge, and she's very feminine," Sutton says. "That balance is interesting." Pyne, NASCAR's former chief operating officer, says IMG views Patrick's move as "an endorsement of NASCAR ... because it offers enormous opportunities" through its larger audience. In the Davie Brown Index, which measures a celebrity's ability to influence consumer behavior, Patrick is ranked third among drivers. She trails Gordon and Earnhardt because of a lower awareness score. "Her awareness will go up considerably in the initial year," says Mike Mooney, vice president of Millsport Motorsports, an agency that helps produce the DBI. "After that, performance is the litmus test in NASCAR." What's on the track matters And therein lie the risks: if Patrick fails, her and Earnhardt's brands could be damaged. Says David Carter, executive director of the University of Southern California's Sports Business Institute: "If they hang her out in the window, she has to do her part, or it's detrimental to both." While considering NASCAR last summer, Patrick had dinner at the Charlotte-area home of IMG's Mark Dyer with ESPN analysts Ray Evernham (three championships as Gordon's crew chief) and Rusty Wallace (1989 champion), whom Patrick peppered with questions. Dyer toured several NASCAR shops with Patrick. Her decision to hop between two different cars (stock cars are twice as heavy but have skinnier tires and less braking) has drawn skepticism, perhaps most notably from Juan Pablo Montoya, a former Indy 500 winner who needed three seasons to become a NASCAR contender. "There's no doubt about her abilities," SpeedTV.com analyst Robin Miller says. "This is something you can't do part time." Says Fox analyst Darrell Waltrip: "Stock cars are like wrestling bears. They're not precise and quick-responding like IndyCar." Patrick joins a team whose Chevys had four Nationwide wins in '09 and finished third in the standings. She could be tutored by Hendrick drivers Gordon, Johnson and Mark Martin, whose Go Daddy-sponsored car is a likely destination if she moves to Cup when her IndyCar deal is up after 2011. (Patrick says, "It'd be nice to have as an option.") For now, her part-time gig will provide a significant test for two of racing's biggest names. "(Kelley's) got a very competitive team, so that's why I wanted to do it," Patrick says. "It's really about giving me the opportunity to perform. The very famous last name is the icing." Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more