Mario So Funny

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — Danica Patrick, who hopes to make her Sprint Cup Series debut in the Daytona 500, will not have to worry about qualifying for the race.

Patrick has a secure spot in the 43-car field for the February 26 running of the Great American Race, thanks to an agreement between her team, Stewart-Haas Racing, and fellow Chevrolet team owner Tommy Baldwin to assign the 2011 car-owner points for Baldwin’s entry to Patrick’s No. 10 Impala.

Tommy Baldwin Racing ended up 33rd last year with Dave Blaney driving.

Reigning Cup champion Tony Stewart is co-owner with Gene Haas of the Stewart-Haas team.

NASCAR guarantees a starting spot to the top 35 teams in car-owner points standings. For the first five races of each new season, the final standings from the previous year are used to determine those guaranteed spots.

Patrick, who rose to fame in the IndyCar Series, will compete in 10 Cup races this year in addition to a full-time schedule in the second-tier NASCAR Nationwide Series, where she will drive for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JR Motorsports team.

Baldwin Racing will receive technical assistance and other support from Stewart-Haas. The team will compete in the entire schedule of races, with David Reutimann driving in the 26 races Patrick will not run.

If the two drivers perform well enough, both drivers will be assured of starting spots in all the races they run.

Daytona qualifying is different from other Cup Series races, with time trials determining only the two front-row positions. A combination of qualifying times, finishing order in a pair of 150-mile qualifying races and team-owner points will set the other 41 spots.

“You don’t want to take chances,” Patrick said. “It’s not the right time to do that. Everyone wants to get into the race, and I’m sure [sponsor] GoDaddy would like to be sure of that happening. Eliminating as many questions is probably a safe route.”

Inside Line says: Individualism is being squeezed out of NASCAR with multi-car mega-teams and co-op agreements between competitors such as this one, but the little guy, Baldwin, benefits as well as the big team and its rising superstar.