Tony Stewart, the part-owner of the Stewart-Hass Racing team, announced that Danica Patrick would return to the fray for the Sprint Cup at the Daytona 500 in February.

Patrick says that she intends to compete in 10 Sprint Cup races next season. She will drive the No. 10 Chevrolet for SHR. She has competed mostly in Indy Car races, but she has also had part-time experience in NASCAR.

“I'm excited,” confessed Patrick. “There's a lot that I'm worried about, but on the other hand, as I've felt with my Nationwide races so far, it's that expectation levels at some times are not quite as high.”

She continued: “You have the ability to make mistakes. There's going to be mistakes and there's going to be learning curves. It's about making the most complete future possible with the limited schedule of experience.”

Stewart says that he hopes Patrick will be able to drive full-time for the Sprint Cup by 2013.