Danica Patrick Is Locked Into the Daytona 500

I know you might find this "surprising" but Danica Patrick, NASCAR's newest golden child of media attention, has locked herself into the Daytona 500...

No, it does not seem that NASCAR made any special "one time only" deal for the potential new driving star of the sport.  I don't think.

Check this out:

Stewart-Haas Racing "obtained" the points from Tommy Baldwin Racing, whose No. 36 car was inside the top-35 in Owners Points in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

This means that Patrick will not have to race her way into the 500 through the 150-miler duel qualifers.

But...

Now that TBR transferred their points to SHR, Dave Blaney, whose points they were, will have to race his way into the 500 and I'm guessing, in each subsequent event for the first few races of the season.

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Is it me, or did transferring points used to be a big deal between teams?  I have a vague recollection of many hoops some folk had to go through when they bought teams, to be able to use those team's points.

But with Patrick, it seemed to be a no-brainer.  It's not a complaint, but still...  something to ponder.

[NASCAR: Patrick has Owner Points]