I have a message for Danica Patrick and all of her fans:

I am sorry.

On Friday, I predicted that Danica would not last 10 laps in Saturday’s Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 ARCA race at Daytona. I covered my bases, and said that I may be way off base.

Boy, was I.

Patrick didn’t tear up the show. She didn’t dominate. She didn’t even lead. But the Indycar diva did something I didn’t expect her to do: Finish the race.

It didn’t end without incident;  Patrick did go for a lazy spin through the infield late in the race. But she did a good job controlling the car and navigating her way through the field afterwards, passing Motocross star Ricky Carmichael on the final lap to finish in 6th place.

Patrick’s performance was good enough to earn her a spot in this Saturday’s Nationwide race at Daytona. And while she hasn’t done enough for us(or at least, most of us) to worship the ground she walks on, I do have to give her credit. She blew my prediction out of the water.

Danica Patrick, I am sorry.

Hey fans! The 2010 NASCAR season got off to a roaring start Saturday night in the Budweiser Shootout. So who got the season started off right, and who came out not lookin’ so good? We’ve got you covered!

Hot: Kevin Harvick. Happy Harvick didn’t see the Daytona pavement until the Shootout parade laps due to a flu bug. But that didn’t stop him from tearing up the show and cruising to his second consecutive Shootout win, becoming just the fourth driver to do so.

Not: Kurt Busch. The Bud Shootout was not a welcome race for the driver of the Miller Lite car. The elder Busch wrecked his primary car in practice, and then his backup in the race. Not a good start to the season for Dodge’s flagship driver.

Hot: Kasey Kahne. The single biggest question of the offseason not surrounding a Hendrick-related driver was “How will Kasey Kahne do in a Ford?” After his runner-up showing in the Bud Shootout, I’d have to say that the Bud car looks pretty good.

Not: Roush-Fenway Racing. Granted, Edwards, Kenseth, and Biffle all ran really well all night long. But the team as a whole has already gone through 4 race cars, and we’re not even to the first points race yet.

Hot: Jamie McMurray. The reunion with his old team didn’t begin well. McMurray finished dead last in class in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, and then crashed his primary car in the first Shootout practice. But McMurray showed Saturday night that he is for real, as he ran top 5 all night long en-route to a 3rd place finish.

Not: Jeff Burton. The Mayor looked really good in practice. But when the green flag dropped, most of NASCAR Nation forgot that the Cat car existed. That is, until he spun it out about halfway through the race after he cut a tire. All-in-all, not a good start to the season for the veteran.

Hot: Mark Martin. The Kid won the pole for the 500 and is showing that he still has quite a bit of speed. The only problem for Martin is…

Not: Mark Martin. No, this is not a typo. Martin co-created a 6-car crash in the first Shootout practice and totaled his primary car. Then he hooked Kurt Busch in the Shootout, ending his day. Finally, Martin destroyed his backup car in an accident with two laps to go in the Shootout. Yikes!

Hot: Joey Logano. Could the ’10s be off to a much better start for Logano? First, he wins the Bodine Bobsled Challenge. Then, he dominates the Toyota All-Star Showdown. Finally, he stays out of trouble in the Shootout and winds up with his first Shootout top 10. This 19-year old is growing up before our eyes, people.

Not: Ryan Newman. Like Martin, he hooked a car during the Shootout and ended his day. Also, like Martin, he was involved the big crash with two laps to go. But, unlike Martin, he didn’t make a splash in the Shootout. He really didn’t even look good. If Newman is to repeat his 2009 success, he’ll have to pick things up.

Hey race fans! Hope you enjoyed the first half of the day’s action. It looks like 5 is the lucky number here today!

If you can’t watch the Budweiser Shootout on Fox, don’t fret. You can follow it live courtesy of NASCAR.com by clicking on the link below:

http://www.nascar.com/races/leaderboard/cup/race/

Hey race fans! Follow Danica Patrick’s stock car debut in the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 ARCA race live at Daytona courtasy of Arcaracing.com by clicking on the link below:

http://timing1.arcaracing.com/

The countdown is almost at zero. The wait is almost over. In just a little more than 24 hours(at the time I am writing this), Danica Patrick’s stock car debut will be underway.

It’s the moment not just NASCAR fans, but race fans in general, have been waiting for since December, when Dale Earnhardt Jr. hired the Indycar diva to drive a race car for his team. “How will Danica do?” has been the question swirling around NASCAR Nation for almost 2 months. Tomorrow, we get our answer.

My prediction: She makes it 10 laps.

I’m am not a Nostrodomus by any means, a fact I have been reminded of several times since I boldly predicted Brian Vickers to win the 2009 Cup title just before the Chase started.

My prediction is probably way of base, and perhaps even a little insulting. But there are several reasons why I believe the Indycar diva doesn’t last more than 10 laps.

First, her inexperience. She seems to be approaching this race, and this whole venture, like it’s no big deal. If this is going to work out, Patrick needs a reality check, and her inexperience may be enough to send her for a ride within the first 10 laps.

Second, the competition. Even if Patrick doesn’t take herself out, there are still about 30 other drivers on the track who don’t have any clue what they are doing. There will be wrecks, and the only way Patrick will be able to dodge them is if she is out front. Something I have a difficult time picturing her doing.

Finally, the mechanics of the car. This goes hand-in-hand with her inexperience, only it refers to her ability to manage the car; not just drive it. Patrick has never had to go up through the gears at a rapid rate in a stock car, so the start of the race could prove to be treacherous. How she handles pit stops is another thing. Remember, Patrick comes from a league where everything is controlled by buttons, so managing the car could prove to be difficult for her.

Like I said, my prediction may be way off base. But we shall see. How do you think she will perform?

Hey race fans! Hope your enjoying the Speedweeks festivities so far. Tonight, we have the Bud Shootout starting grid draw live on Speed, beginning at 9:00 P.M. ET, to determine the starting lineup for Saturday night’s Bud Shootout.

But, just in case you are, for whatever reason, unable to watch the draw live on television, don’t fret. Stock Car Spin will bring you up-to-the minute updates on the draw throughout the evening.

Congrats to 2010 Bud Shootout polesitter Carl Edwards!

See the updated starting grid below:

1. Carl Edwards

2. Kevin Harvick

3. Brian Vickers

4. Ryan Newman

5. Greg Biffle

6. Mark Martin

7. Jeff Burton

8. Matt Kenseth

9. Jamie McMurray

10. John Andretti

11. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

12. Bobby Labonte

13. Tony Stewart

14. Ken Schrader

15. Michael Waltrip

16. Jimmie Johnson

17. Kyle Busch

18. Derrick Cope

19. Kasey Kahne

20. Juan Pablo Montoya

21. Joey Logano

22. Kurt Busch

23. Jeff Gordon

24. Denny Hamlin

As if Richard Petty Motorsports hasn’t already endured enough merging and aligning over the past few years…

It was announced on Tuesday that the newly-expanded Front Row Motorsports team, with drivers Travis Kvapil and Kevin Conway, has agreed to an alliance with Yates Racing. Yates will transfer the owner points from his #98 and #96 cars from a year ago over to Front Row’s #37 and #38 teams, meaning that the #37 and #38 will be locked into the first 5 races of the 2010 season.

The new team will be called Front Row Motorsports with Yates Racing.

Though RPM is not directly affected by this new merger, the alliance will mean that the RPM family will be extended once again. As you may recall, RPM absorbed Yates Racing in 2009 and brought then-Yates driver Paul Menard into their fold.

Now, perhaps I was just misinformed, but I was personally under the impression that, after RPM absorbed Yates, the two teams were merged and that Yates was no longer a separate entity, but rather a part of RPM. So the fact that the Front Row/Yates merger does not directly affect RPM is a bit mind-boggling to me.

Anyway, all of these teams, plus the Wood Brothers’ race team, will be under an even greater umbrella; that of Roush-Fenway Racing. Each of these teams will be receiving technical support from Roush-Fenway, which includes the Roush/Yates engine package. Basically, all of the Ford teams will be running the same equipment, with a few minor exceptions.

In the Ford camp, or more specifically, in the Richard Petty Motorsports and Roush-Fenway Racing camps, everybody is just a part of one big happy family.

A few weeks ago, NASCAR announced that it would be letting the drivers go back to the old grass-roots racing. In other words, they’re loosening the reigns, and letting drivers do what they want. Almost as if they’re turning back the clock to the good ‘ol days.

Perhaps, then, it is a humorous coincidence that two of NASCAR’s biggest teams are turning back the clock when it comes to some of their paint schemes.

Roush-Fenway Racing and Hendrick Motorsports have each unveiled paint schemes for their cars at various times throughout the offseason that may look familiar to you. Granted, these schemes won’t take you back very far; Just back to the last decade in most cases. So don’t expect to see Jeff Gordon’s rainbow scheme or the black Intimidator car.

If you wish to take a look at a paint scheme, just click on one of the highlighted areas(Note: You may need to scroll down on the other site’s page to see the car I refer to):

#5 Carquest Chevrolet: Mark Martin will drive this car in 8 races this season, beginning at Martinsville in March and ending at Texas in November.

Look familiar? That’s because back in 2004, Then-Hendrick development driver Kyle Busch drove a very similar #84 car in 6 races back in 2004, one year before his Rookie of the Year campaign, which took place in the #5 car.

#16 Post-It Ford: Greg Biffle will run this car at Texas Motor Speedway in April to honor the 40th anniversary of Post-It notes.

Look familiar? That’s because back in 2005, Biffle ran a very similar car in 9 races. One of which, ironically, was the April Texas race, won by none other than Greg Biffle.

#17 Valvoline Ford: Matt Kenseth will drive this car in an undetermined amount of races in 2010.

Look familiar? That’s because back in 1995, Mark Martin drove a very similar car for the full season.

#99 Scotts Ford: Carl Edwards will run this car at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March, almost 5 years to the day after his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win.

Look familiar? That’s because back in 2005, Edwards drove a very similar car in 7 races. One of which, ironically, was the March Atlanta race, where Carl Edwards earned his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win.