IndyCar driver Danica Patrick stands poses next to her new NASCAR vehicle during a press conference Tuesday announcing her participation in the 2010 stock car season.Joshua Lott
With the 2010 season-opening 24 Hours of Daytona only weeks away, there are many interesting stories already developing in the racing world.
There will always be dramatic events that no one could have predicted, such as the Crashgate scandal that rocked Formula One in 2009 and David Donohue winning last January's 24 Hours of Daytona on the 40th anniversary of his late father Mark's only Florida triumph.
That said, here are some stories that racing fans might want to keep an eye on in 2010:
Jimmie Johnson's drive for five
After a record-breaking fourth consecutive Sprint Cup title, Jimmie Johnson heads into 2010 looking to join NASCAR legends Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt as only the third driver to win five championships. A dominant force in the sport's Chase for the Cup format introduced in 2004, Johnson remains a perennial favourite for the title. With his Hendrick team taking the top three spots in the 2009 championship with Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon, it's a good bet that Johnson will be zeroing in on Cup No. 5 next November.
Indianapolis 500 fire sale?
When Tony George founded the Indy Racing League 14 years ago, he wanted to steer in the opposite direction from where the old Championship Auto Racing Teams (later Champ Car) was travelling. After swallowing Champ Car in 2008, the IndyCar Series continues to look more and more like CART once did. George was pushed from the helm of the series last season and it is thought that his departure is the first step in the Hulman-George family's divestment plans. Despite countless denials, many inside the paddock believe the series is on the selling block and its crown jewel Indianapolis Motor Speedway could be part of the deal.
Michael Schumacher goes back to the future
The most successful driver in the history of Formula One returns to grand prix racing with Mercedes, the team that gave him his start. While he will be a 41-year-old veteran of 249 grand prix starts by the time the 2010 season opens in Bahrain, no one expects the seven-time world champion to be anything but competitive in the car that won the 2009 F1 title. Reunited with his old friend Ross Brawn, the strategic genius who masterminded his five titles with Ferrari from 2000 to 2004, most think Schumacher will race like he never retired.
Forza Fernando Alonso
The heir apparent to Michael Schumacher, most observers rate Alonso as the most talented driver on the grid today and one of the best at developing a car. A driver who is able to find the winner's circle when he doesn't have the best equipment, the double world champion moved to Ferrari for 2010 to replace the supremely talented, but motivationally challenged, Kimi Raikkonen. With the Scuderia ceasing development of the 2009 car halfway through a disappointing year to focus on the upcoming season's challenger, Alonso should benefit from a quick car right out of the box. If he sniffs an advantage, the young Spaniard will be impossible to catch.
Danica Patrick in stock cars
The darling of open-wheel racing will try her hand in stock cars in 2010 after signing a deal with JR Motorsports to run in the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) and selected NASCAR Nationwide events this year.
Judging from the media circus surrounding her maiden stock-car test last month, there will be an all-out frenzy happening by the time she makes her ARCA race debut at Daytona in February. There's little doubt the open-wheel racing world will be watching Patrick's progress closely since success in NASCAR for its most marketable personality will be terribly bad news for the IndyCar Series.
50 years and counting
A Mecca of Canadian racing that has hosted just about every kind of competition on two-wheels and four over the years, Mosport International Raceway celebrates its 50th anniversary this year with a number of events planned throughout 2010 to mark this important milestone.
It begins with the official kick-off at the 2010 Canadian Motorsports Expo later this month where Paul Tracy will be the guest of honour. Mosport's season gets under way on Victoria Day weekend with the Speed World Challenge. Canadian Superbikes and the American Le Mans Series also make their usual stops in Bowmanville, Ont., this year.
The boys are back in town
Formula One's triumphant return to Montreal after a one-year absence will certainly be a highlight of the racing calendar in Canada. By the time the series arrives in Montreal, several subplots will keep fans interested, such as the newly adopted points system, the elimination of refuelling, the performance of the new teams and some interesting driver pairings - including the debut of double world champ Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa's return from a serious injury at Ferrari, Michael Schumacher's comeback and rising German star Nico Rosberg at Mercedes, McLaren's English driver duo of reigning world champion Jenson Button and British media darling Lewis Hamilton, and Red Bull's pairing of lightning-quick drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.