Mark your calendars now for the Great American Race! Coverage of the 2010 Daytona 500 on FOX begins Feb. 14 at Noon ET.

Patrick's tentative debut in the NASCAR Nationwide Series will be Feb. 20 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. That could change if the team decides to put her behind the wheel at Daytona International Speedway in the Nationwide race set the day before the Daytona 500 on FOX (Feb. 14, Noon ET). The No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet is entered in the Nationwide race, but JR Motorsports says its driver for that car won't be named until after Patrick’s ARCA race on Feb. 6.

"We just want to be smart and calculative about this process," Patrick said in the release. "The tracks we've selected not only compliment the IndyCar schedule, but will give me quality seat time at a variety of facilities."

The Nationwide Series is part of NASCAR's national series and is the junior circuit to the Sprint Cup division. Its season consists of 35 races from February to November at tracks all over the United States and includes one event in Montreal.

Regardless of where Patrick begins her NASCAR career, her remaining schedule includes Las Vegas (Feb. 20), a four-month hiatus to focus on the IndyCar Series and her return to NASCAR at New Hampshire (June 26).

She also will race in Chicago (July 9), Michigan (Aug. 14), Dover, Del. (Sept. 25), Fontana (Oct. 9), Charlotte (Oct. 15), Madison, Ill. (Oct. 23), Texas (Nov. 6), Phoenix (Nov. 13), and Homestead, Fla. (Nov. 20).

The Associated Press contributed to this report.