Former IndyCar champ Sam Hornish Jr. wins his first Nationwide race

Sam Hornish Jr., a former IndyCar racing champion who switched to stock car racing four years ago, won his first NASCAR Nationwide Series race Saturday at Phoenix International Raceway.

His teammate Brad Keselowski finished second, giving their Penske Racing team a 1-2 sweep.

Hornish was a three-time IndyCar champion and Indianapolis 500 winner who struggled after he switched to NASCAR, first in its premier Sprint Cup Series and then in its second-level Nationwide Series.

But Hornish qualified fifth in the Wypall 200 on Saturday, took the lead with about 60 laps remaining and then repeatedly held the lead on several restarts following accidents behind him.

"I cant hardly believe it," Hornish said. "I’m so happy about it. I'm glad I stuck it out [in stock cars]."

Carl Edwards finished third, Joey Logano fourth and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. fifth.

Stenhouse holds a 41-point lead in the Nationwide championship standings over Elliott Sadler, who finished 27th after being collected in an accident.

--Jim Peltz in Avondale, Ariz.

Photo: Sam Hornish Jr. celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series race Saturday at Phoenix International Raceway. Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images

Danica Patrick in 8-car crash in NASCAR Nationwide’s opening lap

Danica Patrick was among eight drivers whose cars were involved in a crash on the opening lap of the NASCAR Nationwide Series race Saturday.

Patrick's No. 7 Chevrolet slammed hard into the Turn 3 wall when the wreck occurred in the Wypall 200 at Phoenix International Raceway. Other drivers collected in the crash included Brian Scott and Reed Sorenson.

Despite heavy damage to the back of her car, Patrick was able to reach the pits for repairs and she was running 34th, two laps behind the leaders, when racing resumed. She had started the race 25th.

Aric Almirola was the early leader in the 200-lap race, followed by Clint Bowyer, Justin Allgaier and Carl Edwards.

There were concerns about the Phoenix track leading into the weekend because the one-mile oval recently was repaved, and drivers said the new surface was exceptionally slick and that passing would be difficult.

— Jim Peltz in Avondale, Ariz.

Photo: Danica Patrick shortly before the NASCAR Nationwide Series race Saturday at Phoenix International Raceway. Credit: Jennifer Hilderbrand / US Presswire

Danica Patrick to make NASCAR Sprint Cup debut at Daytona 500

Danica Patrick plans to make her debut in NASCAR's premier Sprint Cup Series at the sport's crown-jewel race, the Daytona 500, next Feb. 26 and is eyeing a possible full-time Cup ride in 2013.

Patrick, 29,will drive the No. 10 Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing, the team co-owned by two-time Cup champion Tony Stewart.

Patrick just finished her full-time career in the Izod IndyCar Series, in which she won one race in seven years, to drive full-time in NASCAR stock-car racing.

In an announcement at Texas Motor Speedway, site of the next Cup race Sunday, Stewart-Haas and Patrick said she would drive a total of 10 Cup races next year while also competing all season in NASCAR's second-tier Nationwide Series.

Besides Daytona, Patrick's Cup schedule includes Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Dover (Del.) International Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway.

Her two other Cup appearances will be determined later.

"Our goal with Danica's schedule is to try and maximize her 10 races with us so that she's as prepared as she can possibly be for a full-time Sprint Cup schedule in 2013," Stewart said in a statement.

Patrick, who is driving in this Saturday's Nationwide race at Texas, also said her helmet and race car would carry paint schemes honoring two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon, who was killed last month in an IndyCar race in Las Vegas.

-- Jim Peltz

Photo: Danica Patrick and team co-owner Tony Stewart unveil Patrick's No. 10 Chevrolet for the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series during an event at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday. Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images

Dan Wheldon crash: Two injured drivers treated and released

This post has been updated. See below for details.

Two other IndyCar drivers involved in the 15-car wreck that killed British driver Dan Wheldon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday were treated for minor injuries, their teams said.

Will Power of Penske Racing, who finished second in the title standings behind champion Dario Franchitti, complained of pain in his upper back after his car went airborne in the crash.

But "there was no evidence of significant injuries so he has been released" from University Medical Center in Las Vegas, Penske Racing said.

Another driver, Pippa Mann of the Rahal Letterman Lanigan team, had surgery Sunday night at the same hospital to treat a severely burned pinkie finger on her right hand. She was being released Monday morning, her team said.

[Updated, 12:20 p.m. Oct. 17: A third driver, J.R. Hildebrand, suffered a “severely bruised sternum” in the accident and was held overnight at University Medical Center but was released Monday, his team, Panther Racing, said.]

The Izod IndyCar Series, meanwhile, announced that it canceled its championship banquet scheduled for Monday night at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas.

The series also said information on a public memorial for Wheldon will be released at a later date.

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-- Jim Peltz

Photo: Drew Boyd places a checkered flag at a gate of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as part of a memorial for two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon. Credit: Scott Olson / Getty Images

Will Power gets another shot at IndyCar title

For Will Power, it's a chance for redemption.

Last year, the Australian driver had a sizable 59-point lead in the Izod IndyCar Series championship battle with four races left, only to blow the advantage and see Dario Franchitti win his second consecutive IndyCar title and third overall.

At the time, Power was more skilled on curvy road and street courses than on oval tracks, and all four of those final races were on ovals.

Now, Power again has the lead with only two races left, but it's a much narrower 11 points over the second-place Franchitti, who drives for the Target Chip Ganassi Racing team.

But Power, who drives for Team Penske, is confident because he's had another year of navigating oval speedways, which included his first oval win at Texas Motor Speedway in June. Power, 30, has six wins overall this season.

The series' last two races are Sunday at Kentucky Speedway and Oct. 16 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, both 1.5-mile oval tracks.

"I really didn't have the experience" on ovals a year ago, Power said in a telephone interview. This year, "I'm just going to focus on the job and the things I can control," he said.

And if the championship slips away again? "All we can say is that we did everything we could do to win it, that's all we can do," he said.

Meanwhile, driver Oriol Servia has maintained a surprisingly strong showing, and the Spaniard is fourth in the standings entering the final two races.

Servia is a distant 145 points behind Power but still higher than such well-known IndyCar drivers as Tony Kanaan (fifth), Ryan Briscoe (sixth), Marco Andretti (seventh), Helio Castroneves (10th) and Danica Patrick (12th).

Servia, who drives for Newman-Haas Racing and lives much of the year in Los Angeles, doesn't have a win this season but has earned top-five finishes in three of the last four races.

"We're having a great year" and it shows "we can definitely be strong contenders for next season," Servia said.

--Jim Peltz

Photo: Will Power, right, talks with a crew member during practice Aug. 13 for the Izod IndyCar Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H. Credit: Toby Talbot / Associated Press

Danica Patrick to drive full-time for NASCAR in 2012

Danica Patrick, one of racing’s most popular drivers, said Thursday that she will leave IndyCar to drive full time for NASCAR in 2012.

"Very exciting. I'm just excited to finally say it," Patrick said.

Patrick, 29, will race a full schedule on NASCAR’s second-tier Nationwide circuit for JR Motorsports, owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., and will race in about 10 Sprint Cup races for Tony Stewart’s Stewart-Haas Racing.

Patrick became a household name in 2005 when she was the first woman to lead in laps at the Indianapolis 500, before finishing fourth. She also was the first woman to win a race on the IndyCar circuit, winning in Japan in 2008.

Patrick has been a magnet for advertisers and sponsors ever since and is expected to draw plenty of attention to NASCAR.

But her results have been mixed on the track.

This season she is 12^th in the IndyCar driver points standings. Patrick has also driven part-time on the Nationwide series and has one top five finish in seven races.

Patrick hasn’t decided which Sprint Cup races she'll drive in next year, and she didn’t rule out driving in the Indy 500 next season.

-- Barry Stavro

Photo: Danica Patrick signs a contract Thursday in Scottsdale, Ariz., to drive full-time on a NASCAR circuit next year. Credit: Paul Connors / Associated Press.

Danica Patrick may switch to NASCAR -- and still race in Indy 500

Danica Patrick's days as an IndyCar driver may not be coming to a complete end after all. Even if she becomes a full-time NASCAR driver as expected, she may still take part in the biggest IndyCar race of them all.

Patrick reportedly is in the final stages of a deal to run a full-time Nationwide Series schedule as a part of JR Motorsports as well as compete in limited Sprint Cup Series races for the team owned by Tony Stewart. Those talks include a plan to allow her to continue racing in the Indianapolis 500, the Associated Press reported, citing an unnamed source.

JR Motorsports co-owner Kelley Earnhardt has said it would be tough for Patrick to compete for a Nationwide championship if she runs in the Indianapolis 500, which requires drivers to spend much of May at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. NASCAR had three Nationwide races during that span this year.

Patrick, who finished third at the Indianapolis 500 in 2009, has one career IndyCar victory and is ranked 11th in the series standings. She is winless in 19 career Nationwide races, but JR Motorsports co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. says she's "way ahead of the curve" as a NASCAR driver.

"I would like for her to run full time, and I'm sure she is considering that, and I think she would enjoy it,” Earnhardt said at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. "I feel confident that she's content where she is and happy with what we're doing. I think things are looking positive for us to put something together."

Stewart has also expressed interest in working with Patrick in the Sprint Cup Series.

"Anybody that's got a Cup team that would have the availability would jump at the chance to do something with her," Stewart said in May. "You would be crazy not to entertain an offer like that and an opportunity for her to drive a race car for you."

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NASCAR Chase for the Cup playoff could include surprising names

-- Chuck Schilken

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Photo: Danica Patrick. Credit: Nick Laham / Getty Images