JR Motorsports didn't need another popular driver to give its organization depth. Team co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. can do that enough on his own.
 
But now the team has another top name in its lineup with the announcement that Danica Patrick will run select Nationwide Series races in 2010 and 2011. And having the IndyCar Series driver - one of the most popular figures in motorsports and one of the few who transcends into American society as a whole - will increase an already huge spotlight on the team.
 
"We're very excited about the relationship with Danica," team Vice President and general manager Kelley Earnhardt said. "It brings a whole new level of eyeballs to JR Motorsports and the Nationwide Series and NASCAR. We have a lot to learn about her brand and where she wants to go and what she wants to do, and we look forward to working with her on the things that we can do together with her and Dale Jr. and how that can help JR Motorsports."
 
Kelley Earnhardt still has some work to do on the Patrick program. The exact number of races has not been announced. She also is unsure when the organization is going to run two full-time cars. The team previously announced that Kelly Bires would run the full season, although Earnhardt Jr. said last week the team doesn't have him fully sponsored as well.
 
Going into 2010, the organization only has one car locked in for the first five races. Kelley Earnhardt said that Patrick would have a car locked in the field for those races but would not say whether that will come from this year's No. 88 team (with driver Brad Keselowski and partial sponsorship from GoDaddy.com) or whether JR Motorsports will get them from another team. JRM fielded the No. 5 car in only 23 of the 35 races last year with various drivers, so it does not have a locked in position for the first five races next season.
 
Earnhardt said the No. 7 car essentially takes the place of the No. 5.
 
There are no grand expectations for Patrick, said Earnhardt, a former racer herself who said a top 15 points finish should be considered successful. Keselowski placed third in the standings the last two years and had four wins this season. The No. 5 car did not have a win.
 
"Danica is coming over from another form of racing, and she hasn't been in stock cars on any consistent level or done anything like that, so it's definitely going to be a challenge for her," Earnhardt said. "But she believes in herself and has the confidence and the competitive nature to get on the race track. I've done that before. I know what that's like. I know the feeling that comes with that.
 
"From a JR Motorsports perspective, we're just very thrilled to be partnered back with GoDaddy and continue that relationship and bring Danica into NASCAR. And it will be what it is. We'll give her everything that there is to give and all the resources to get out there and do a good job. We'll see what that looks like. There is definitely pressure for all of us to perform, no doubt."
 
GoDaddy Chief Executive Officer Bob Parsons helped with the deal getting done, Patrick said.
 
"There's no mystery that I went to Charlotte a couple of times in the summer and visited with various different teams, but I think this really came together because of obviously how competitive the car is and how good it is, but [also] obviously the relationship between Bob Parsons and GoDaddy with Dale Jr. and Hendrick," Patrick said. "So there was a lot of reasons why this really came together - it was really for all the right reasons."
 
For Kelley Earnhardt, having a female driver is a big deal. Her 9-year-old daughter recognizes Patrick from advertisements in magazines that target teens and pre-teens.
 
"What's really fun about it [is] the way the young females can gravitate toward it, and it can open up a door for people to become more fans of NASCAR and motorsports," Earnhardt said. Earnhardt herself is becoming a part-owner of the team as she and Tony Eury Jr. are joining Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Rick Hendrick as owners. Earnhardt Jr. told reporters about the change in ownership last Thursday.
 
"We let it sit on the plate for about four months that Mr. Hendrick and Dale Jr. offered Tony and I ownership interest in JR Motorsports, and we didn't want to announce it until the end of this year," Kelley Earnhardt said. "It's really effective Jan. 1, 2010, so we didn't feel the need to really make that announcement.
 
"It's kind of coincidental that we're doing it all together with this announcement and Dale's comments last week."