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Danica Patrick is one of the biggest female stars in sports. This week, the Indy Car driver announced she'll try her luck in NASCAR. That's good news for a sport that's lost momentum the last few years, and for sponsors who want to sell their products to female race fans. WFAE's Scott Graf reports: Patrick announced on Tuesday she'll join forces with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and race a limited schedule in NASCAR's Nationwide Series next year. That's the sport's second-highest level behind the Sprint Cup. And for Patrick - it'll be a proving ground. Marcus Smith is General Manager of Lowe's Motor Speedway. "Nobody's gonna expect her to come out and win right off the bat," Smith says. "But they'll be very interested in seeing how she does." People like Smith sometimes have to dig hard to find good storylines in order to sell thousands of tickets. But the infusion of female star power Patrick represents - she made Forbes' rankings of the top 100 celebrities - will make promoting the sport easier. "Certainly in a time when the overall economy has been tough for a lot of people, having another story to tell - having another line of interest to talk about, that's positive, is a really good thing," Smith says. It's also good timing. NASCAR has struggled lately. Attendance is down. So are TV ratings. And sponsors have fled the sport as the economy tanked. Linda Swayne teaches sports marketing at UNC Charlotte. "I know that NASCAR has been very interested in trying to look for new opportunities for sponsorship in these tight economic times," she says. Patrick has used her sex appeal to promote sponsors like GoDaddy.com to a mostly male audience. But Swayne says Patrick could be a perfect fit for companies like Revlon or Loreal. Swayne also thinks that a talented, attractive and well spoken driver is willing to test the NASCAR waters, adds legitimacy to the sport. "Having a female driver I think will entice some sponsors who otherwise still had the perception that NASCAR was the blue collar, good ol' boys drinking beer," Swayne says. It's not clear if Patrick's limited schedule will include a race at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Although she's a marketing star, Patrick only has one victory on the Indy circuit. Some open wheel drivers, like Tony Stewart, made a seamless transition to NASCAR's bigger stage. There's also a long list of drivers who failed and went back to open wheel racing.