Stay tuned as Danica faces more experienced drivers this weekend

Before Speedweeks kicked off last week, we looked at five things to keep our eyes on as the 52nd annual gathering at "The World Center of Racing" rolled. Now that we're halfway through this edition, here are a few items that demand further attention:

Danica driving on

It was a no-brainer for Danica Patrick and JR Motorsports to expedite her NASCAR debut after her performance in last week's ARCA race. Patrick more than proved she's capable to handle a stock car, and even her harshest critics had to take notice of what she did last Saturday. But now the stakes get much higher and Patrick will be thrown into a field of drivers with much more experience and talent than she faced in the ARCA affair.

With teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the lineup, Patrick will get the opportunity to learn from one of the most capable drafting partners in NASCAR, and that will help her learning curve immensely. Hopefully she'll have fewer wrecks to dodge than was the case in her ARCA experience. That will definitely lower the stress level. Patrick will be in top-notch equipment and with a little luck might have the opportunity to impress the stock car world again this weekend.

Good start for Junior

Putting his car on the outside of the Daytona 500 front row was just what the doctor ordered for Dale Earnhardt Jr. With his Hendrick teammate Mark Martin alongside, Junior should feel confident about his chances for a second Daytona 500 win come Sunday. However, while his qualifying effort was superior, Earnhardt has to have a better handling car than the one he wheeled in the Budweiser Shootout. Battling a loose car all nightlong, Earnhardt was never a factor to win the race and you can be sure crew chief Lance McGrew will be searching to find a better setup in the remaining practice sessions as well as Thursday's twin 150-mile races to put into place for the 500.

Gibbs going on

Joe Gibbs Racing saw its three drivers notch top-10 finishes in the Shootout and continues to reinforce the team's place as a serious contender to end Hendrick Motorsports' reign as perennial Sprint Cup champion. Denny Hamlin has picked up right where he left off from his solid showings at the end of last year and the Kyle Busch-Dave Rogers driver/crew chief tandem is already hitting on all cylinders. Sophomore driver Joey Logano doesn't show any signs of not continuing his rise up the Cup ranks giving team owner Joe Gibbs much to smile about in the early going at Daytona.

New faces in new places

Every new season features driver and team lineup changes with brand new color, sponsor and number combinations. This year is no different, and Daytona has been the first chance to see the likes of Jamie McMurray, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski and Paul Menard make their debuts with new organizations. Early on, McMurray has been the most impressive with Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing's No. 1 Chevrolet. The former Roush-Fenway Racing pilot showed he had a fast mount during the first practice sessions and backed it up with a solid third-place finish in the Shootout. McMurray and teammate Juan Pablo Montoya will be fine-tuning their drafting plan as the rest of the week's practices unfold and don't be surprised to see the tandem near the front of the pack in Sunday's 500.

Searching for speed

The Ford camp is still trying to find the missing ingredient that hindered the manufacturer's effort last season and so far the lack of speed is the biggest hurdle. Bill Elliott turned the fourth-fastest lap in qualifying behind the wheel of the Wood Brothers Fusion while defending Daytona 500 winner Matt Kenseth was 10th on the speed chart. After that, you have to slide down to find the next Fords with Paul Menard, David Ragan, A.J. Allmendinger and Carl Edwards 23rd through 26th. Edwards ran well early on in the Shootout and Kasey Kahne -- making his debut in a Richard Petty Motorsports Ford -- finished second behind winner Kevin Harvick. So perhaps what the Blue Oval squad has lacked in miles per hour will be made up in the racing draft on Sunday.

Garage chatter

• Saturday's Nationwide Series season opener at Daytona has 53 entries including 14 full-time Sprint Cup regulars, including four (Carl Edwards, Paul Menard, Brad Keselowski and Michael McDowell) who plan to run the entire season.

• Danica Patrick won't be the only woman in the field as Chrissy Wallace is also on the entry list.

• Aric Almirola, who was planning to run a full Sprint Cup Series effort for long-time owner James Finch until sponsorship dried up only days ago, will pilot Billy Ballew's entry in the Camping World Truck Series this season.

• Veteran Truck Series pilot Rick Crawford is scheduled to run Friday night's series opener but does not have sponsorship in place -- as of yet -- to run beyond Daytona.

• Former Formula One driver Nelson Piquet Jr., who made his Daytona stock car debut in Saturday’s ARCA race, will run for Red Horse Racing in this season's Truck Series.