Danica Patrick to make NASCAR debut at Daytona this weekend in Nationwide race

The IndyCar star will drive the No. 7 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports in Saturday's second-tier Nationwide Series race.

The decision announced Monday to race at Daytona was made after team officials dissected her stock-car racing debut in the ARCA race at Daytona on Saturday. The team had left the option to race up to Patrick, who wanted to assess her first race before deciding whether to enter one of the most prestigious Nationwide races of the season.

Patrick overcame a midrace spin to finish sixth.

"Racing in the Nationwide Series race was my goal during this entire two-month preparation process, but we wanted to make sure it was the right thing to do," Patrick said in a statement. "The ARCA race was a blast, and I'm not ready for my first Daytona Speedweeks to end just yet. I want more racing."

Patrick had been hesitant to make her debut at Daytona because of the top talent that race attracts. Sprint Cup drivers have won nine of the last 10 Nationwide races here, and the lone exception was Martin Truex Jr., who won in 2005 in JR Motorsports car.

Patrick will be joined in the field by Dale Earnhardt Jr., her car owner. He has five wins and 10 top-10 finishes in 17 Nationwide races at Daytona.

Earnhardt will be driving JRM's flagship No. 88, while Patrick will be in the car she will drive in 13 previously announced races. Her schedule after Daytona includes the Feb. 20 race at California and the Feb. 27 race at Las Vegas.

"I think Danica proved to everyone that she can compete in stock cars at a high level, and right now seat time is extremely important," said Kelley Earnhardt, Earnhardt's sister and the general manager and a part owner of JRM.

"She has worked extremely hard during the past two months for this opportunity. Her dedication and work ethic is infectious."

JR Motorsports acquired the points from CJM Racing to ensure Patrick a spot in the field. CJM Racing finished 15th in the owner standings last season, but has suspended operations.

'Tea party' movement is democracy at work, but will supporters, and Sarah Palin, be able to convert the enthusiasm to election success

First, the independent Ross Perot contingent. Then, the liberal "netroots" mobilization. Now, the conservative "tea party" coalition.

No doubt this is democracy at work, a quintessential part of America.

Will the latest political phenomenon become a society-changing movement influencing elections and beyond?

They held their first national "tea party" convention over the weekend. And they're already having some impact on American politics.

"America is ready for another revolution, and you are a part of this," Sarah Palin, the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee, told convention attendees Saturday. "You all have the courage to stand up and speak out."

Many "tea party" disciples view the former Alaska governor — also an author, a Fox News analyst and a potential 2012 presidential candidate — as their de facto leader. But Palin suggested the movement should remain leaderless and cautioned against allowing it to be defined by any one person.

But she repeatedly dismissed that notion, saying: "The 'tea party' movement is not a top-down operation. It's a ground-up call to action that is forcing both parties to change the way they're doing business, and that's beautiful."

The "tea party" movement is a collection of stay-at-home moms, small-business owners, corporate executives and everyone in between — many political neophytes who aren't hardcore ideologues — who are using the latest technology to come together and vent their frustrations about their country and plot to install a new group in charge of the government.

KRISTEN BELL PRAISES “DOWN TO EARTH” CHER

KRISTEN Bell admits she was starstruck when she first met Cher on the set of new their movie Burlesque — but insists the music legend was “very easy to be around”.

“She’s so cool and such a great actress,” Kristen said. “I could talk but I was definitely having to take a breath and going ‘I’m in a room with Cher right now’, but she’s so personable and down to earth, it’s not really what you expect, she’s very easy to be around.”

Bell says Burlesque — which hits theaters in November this year — is”about a burlesque club and Christina Aguilera plays a girl who moves from a small town and wants to perform there.

“Cher owns the club and we play best friends, I’m her lead dancer and Christina sort of comes in between the two of us and I’m not very happy about that!”

Bell — who’s currently dating comedian Dax Shepard — recently revealed that she puts her love life ahead of her Hollywood career.

“I think your significant other should be way more important than your work, personally,” she said. “I love working. I don’t know that I’d say I’m a workaholic because I also love maxin’ and relaxin’.

“I don’t think I’m a workaholic but currently, I feel like I’m at a really lovely place and I’m grateful to be where I am so I like working too, but I know what my priorities are.”

Elin Nordegren stayed at Brett Favre's house while visiting Tiger in sex rehab

Where do you stay in Mississippi when you're trying to be inconspicuous while visiting arguably the most famous athlete on Earth? Well, how about staying at the home of Mississippi's most famous native—Brett Favre.

According to reports in Us Weekly, that's exactly what Elin Nordegren did this past week while visiting husband Tiger Woods, who was in a nearby sex rehab clinic.

The magazine reports that Favre was not at the ranch in Hattiesburg, Miss., during her stay.

She was spotted around town.

“She definitely stands out,” a local shopkeeper told the magazine. “She was beautiful. She was walking around alone and trying to keep to herself.”

Lucy Lawless: If you can’t stand the gore, watch something else

Lucy Lawless knows some viewers will be offended by her new series “Spartacus: Blood and Sand,” premiering tonight at 10 on Starz.

“I think a lot of people are going to be shocked and they are going to shut off their televisions,” Lawless said in a recent telephone interview from Los Angeles.

“And I absolutely encourage that because if they’re shocked by the first few episodes, it ain’t going to let up. But for the people who have the stomach for it, this is a bloody good yarn.”

Lawless plays the conniving Lucretia, who owns the slave Spartacus (Andy Whitfield) with her husband, Batiatus (John Hannah).

“She does terrible things, but she does them out of desperation and need, which is how most people get involved in criminal activities,” Lawless said. “She is venal, but she is also religious. She is full of contradictions, and my aim is to make her so real and so believable that the audience will say, ‘Yes, you know what? I can see myself doing the same thing if I was in her shoes.’ ”

For the part, the 41-year-old appears topless and in explicit sex scenes.

“Really, I just feel like as long as it’s germane to the scene, it’s not offensive to me,” she said. “If it is relevant and historically accurate, then artistically it makes sense. People in ancient Rome had completely different relationships to people and their bodies and sexuality and the law and religion.”

The former star of “Xena: Warrior Princess” is also happy to not be the one involved in the action sequences. Though some may draw comparisons between “Xena” and “Spartacus,” Lawless thinks they are very different.

“There’s no ‘nudge-nudge, wink-wink’ on this show,” she said. “The conceit of the show is so out there. There’s so much blood. It’s larger than life and very operatic. We had to keep the acting and the characters very real.”

The series also allows her to work with her husband, executive producer Rob Tapert, and film in her native New Zealand.

“For the last few years, we’ve had a lot of separation,” she said. “I was working in Vancouver, he was working in New Zealand. This was a great time for our family to get everybody back under one roof and really enjoy what family means. My home life got so much richer.”

Lawless and the rest of the cast will begin production on season two in April. What can viewers expect as season one unfolds?

“Things get very, very dicey for everybody,” she said. “The stakes just get higher and higher, and you see the frenenemies come out to play. You see that the women are more vicious than the men.”

LUCY LAWLESS SAYS HER NEW TV SHOW IS SEXY, VIOLENT!

LUCY Lawless says her new TV show is gory, sexy AND extremely offensive!

Sounds like it’s worth watching!

The former Xena: Warrior Princess star admits lots of people will probably be offended by Spartacus: Blood and Sand, which premiered Friday night on Starz.

“I think a lot of people are going to be shocked and they are going to shut off their televisions,” Lawless told the Boston Herald newspaper.

The actress insists she isn’t worried if people start tuning out of the program.

“And I absolutely encourage that because if they’re shocked by the first few episodes, it ain’t going to let up,” she said.

“But for the people who have the stomach for it, this is a bloody good yarn.”

Lawless plays the character of Lucretia, who owns the slave Spartacus (Andy Whitfield) with her husband, Batiatus (John Hannah).

“She does terrible things, but she does them out of desperation and need, which is how most people get involved in criminal activities,” said the 41-year-old. “She is venal, but she is also religious. She is full of contradictions, and my aim is to make her so real and so believable that the audience will say, ‘Yes, you know what? I can see myself doing the same thing if I was in her shoes.’”

“Really, I just feel like as long as it’s germane to the scene, it’s not offensive to me,” Lucy said of appearing topless and in explicit sex scenes.. “If it is relevant and historically accurate, then artistically it makes sense. People in ancient Rome had completely different relationships to people and their bodies and sexuality and the law and religion.”save