Danica Patrick

INDIANAPOLIS - The field is set for the Indianapolis 500. And, more importantly, it's full. On an otherwise ho-hum day of qualifying, nine cars made the field on their first attempts, ending any potential last-minute drama and assuring the May 27 race would start with a full field of 33 cars for the 64th consecutive year. Things went almost as smoothly Sunday as race organizers could have expected. For the first time since 2004, there were no bump attempts - taking away the intrigue of last year's enthralling finish when Marco Andretti bumped his way into the race by knocking out teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay on the final four-lap qualifying attempt of the month.

JEFF GORDON turns 40 Aug. 4, joining Tony Stewart in the 4-0 club. Both probably have at least 5 more years of quality racing in them. Nine of the other top 12 Sprint Cup drivers are in their 30s, prime time for racers. At 26, Kyle Busch is the kid in the bunch. While the Cup series has more than its share of stars and the quality of competition in most races is strong, many observers, including yours truly, believe the series needs fresh new talent. Regular readers have seen this before: hel-lo, Danica.

Although Danica Patrick got plenty of publicity for her season in the IRL, she certainly doesn't want much for her wedding. The 23-year-old driver, who finished fourth in the Indy 500, and physical therapist Paul Hospen-thal, 40, were married Saturday in Scottsdale, Ariz. Team spokesman Brent Maurer said Patrick has asked Rahal Letterman Racing to release virtually no information on the ceremony. Maurer could only confirm yesterday that Patrick was married and that car owner Bobby Rahal was there.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Tony Stewart says he'd be interested in signing Danica Patrick if she moves to NASCAR's top series. Stewart owns Stewart-Haas Racing and is looking for opportunties to grow the team from two to four cars. He's advised Patrick during her trial period in NASCAR. Moving full time from IndyCar is a possibility when her contract ends later this year. Stewart said yesterday that he's not had talks with Patrick, but that he would not field a Nationwide Series team for Patrick.

Katherine Legge is becoming a real force in the Toyota Atlantic Series and is starting to get irritated by comparisons to Indy Racing League sensation Danica Patrick. Legge, the only woman driving in Champ Car's top developmental series, pulled off a difficult pass for the lead with 16 laps remaining yesterday in the streets of San Jose and went on to her second straight victory and third of the season. Patrick never had finished better than second in two seasons in Atlantics.

LAS VEGAS - Defending Nationwide champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. led the final 54 laps at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday for his first victory of the season. Stenhouse had a strong car all day and dominated the end of the 200-mile race, pulling away from Mark Martin on a pair restarts on the 1.5-mile tri-oval in the desert. Martin, who had won four of his previous six Nationwide starts at Las Vegas, finished second in his first Nationwide race for Joe Gibbs Racing. Polesitter Elliott Sadler rallied to finish third after a lengthy midrace pit stop to fix a vibration.

A person familiar with the plan says Danica Patrick has reached a deal to enter NASCAR with JR Motorsports. Patrick will announce a partial Nationwide Series schedule at a news conference today in Phoenix, the person familiar with her plans told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because she has not officially announced her intentions. Last week Patrick signed a 3-year contract extension with Andretti Autosport to stay in the IndyCar series, but its schedule gives her enough time to also try NASCAR.

Danica Patrick will ease her way into NASCAR by skipping the Nationwide Series opener at Daytona International Speedway in favor of a less-stressful debut 1 week later at California. The IndyCar star is still working on piecing together a 13-race schedule for JR Motorsports in NASCAR's second-tier series, but announced yesterday she's marked the Feb. 20 race at Auto Club Speedway for her debut. JR Motorsports also will field a car for Patrick in the Feb. 27 race at Las Vegas.

Danica Patrick set the pace on Carburetion Day yesterday, and Buddy Lazier's hopes of winning his second Indianapolis 500 suffered a setback. Patrick ran a 225.597-mph lap in the Pioneer/Argent Panoz-Honda to claim fast time of the day honors. Tony Kanaan, Dan Wheldon and Sam Hornish Jr. also topped the 225-mph mark. Carb Day practice's being cut in half from previous years to only an hour was not a factor, as no driver ran more than 28 laps in the final tuneup for tomorrow's 200-lap race.

Jeff Byrd 500 Presented by Food City Bristol Motor Speedway Bristol, Tenn. When: Sunday, 1 p.m. TV/Radio: Fox/WNPV (1440-AM) Race course: .533-mile oval Race distance: 500 laps/266.5 miles Forecast: Partly cloudy, 72 Last year's winner: Jimmie Johnson Last year's pole winner: Joey Logano, 124.630 mph Track qualifying record: Ryan Newman, 128.709 mph (March 2003) Track facts: In winning last year's race, Jimmie Johnson led three times for 84 laps (including the last seven laps)

INDIANAPOLIS - The field is set for the Indianapolis 500. And, more importantly, it's full. On an otherwise ho-hum day of qualifying, nine cars made the field on their first attempts, ending any potential last-minute drama and assuring the May 27 race would start with a full field of 33 cars for the 64th consecutive year. Things went almost as smoothly Sunday as race organizers could have expected. For the first time since 2004, there were no bump attempts - taking away the intrigue of last year's enthralling finish when Marco Andretti bumped his way into the race by knocking out teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay on the final four-lap qualifying attempt of the month.

The buzz surrounding Danica Patrick still is running on all cylinders even though the popular driver, essentially a rookie in her first full season in NASCAR's minor leagues, is off to a so-so start on the racetrack this year. So as she pushes deeper into the long NASCAR season, Patrick is trying to focus more on what she's learning each week than where she's finishing - at least for now. She has yet to post a top-10 finish after four races in NASCAR's second-level Nationwide Series this year.

LAS VEGAS - Defending Nationwide champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. led the final 54 laps at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday for his first victory of the season. Stenhouse had a strong car all day and dominated the end of the 200-mile race, pulling away from Mark Martin on a pair restarts on the 1.5-mile tri-oval in the desert. Martin, who had won four of his previous six Nationwide starts at Las Vegas, finished second in his first Nationwide race for Joe Gibbs Racing. Polesitter Elliott Sadler rallied to finish third after a lengthy midrace pit stop to fix a vibration.

NASCAR ISSUED steep penalties against five-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson and his team for failing the first inspection for the Daytona 500. Crew chief Chad Knaus was fined $100,000 and suspended six races yesterday, car chief Ron Malec also was barred for six races, and Johnson was docked 25 points, sending him into this weekend's race in Arizona last in the Sprint Cup Series standings. The penalties stem from a failed inspection Feb. 17 at Daytona International Speedway.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Just call it the James Taylor 500. "I've seen fire and I've seen rain. " It was already bad enough for sad, soggy race fans that the Daytona 500 was postponed by rain Sunday for the first time in its 54-year history. But who would have ever imagined that this race - finally and mercifully won by Matt Kenseth at 12:55 a.m. Tuesday - would be delayed again late Monday because of a jet-fuel fire? It's only appropriate that the No. 1 song in America right now is Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - First came the rain. Then came the fire. Everything that could go wrong with this Daytona 500 did go wrong, and the race will be remembered for everything but the eventual winner. Journeyman driver Dave Blaney was leading when a problem with Juan Pablo Montoya's car sent him spinning into a safety truck. The truck, which holds 200 gallons of jet kerosene, burst into flames. Montoya's car slid into the grass, and he gingerly climbed from it as fire trucks rushed to the scene.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - First came the rain. Then came the fire. NASCAR races rarely come off without a hitch, but what happened Monday night on the 160th lap of the Daytona 500 is without precedent. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Journeyman driver Dave Blaney was leading when a problem with Juan Pablo Montoya's car sent him spinning under caution into a safety truck. The truck, which holds 200 gallons of jet kerosene, burst into flames. Montoya's car slid into the grass, and he gingerly climbed from it as fire trucks rushed to the scene.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Two races. Two surprise winners. James Buescher became the second first-time winner in as many days at Daytona International Speedway when he dodged several cars while driving through a last-lap wreck to win Saturday's Drive4COPD 300 Nationwide series season opener. Friday night, John King, making his first start at Daytona, won the Truck series season opener - his first win in NASCAR's three top series. Buescher, with the help of good timing and some smart moves in the final quarter-lap, added his first national series win Saturday.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - In about 24 hours, Danica Patrick went from her biggest crash to her biggest moment in a stock car. The former IndyCar star won the pole Friday for the season-opening Nationwide Series race at Daytona, becoming the first woman to secure the top qualifying spot in NASCAR's second-tier series since Shawna Robinson at Atlanta on March 12, 1994. It came a day after she wrecked on the final lap of a qualifying race for the Daytona 500. "It's a good turn of events," she said.

DANICA PATRICK walked away OK after taking a hard hit to the wall in her qualifying race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway yesterday. Patrick was caught up in a crash on the final lap of the first of two 150-mile qualifying races, sending her car into the wall on the backstretch. The wreck ripped the front end off Patrick's car, and she'll have to use a backup car in Sunday's Daytona 500. After being released from the infield medical-care center, Patrick said she hoped her backup car might be even faster than her primary car. "I'm just very disappointed that the car got crashed with two corners to go," Patrick said.