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HAMPTON, Ga. — Tony Stewart is confident that Danica Patrick will be racing in NASCAR. The question is when and how often.

Patrick has given indications that she'll remain in the Indy Car series after this season but it appears she could race in some Nationwide events on off weekends.

Stewart met with Patrick recently at his race shop, the second time she's visited Stewart-Haas Racing this summer. The meeting, Stewart said, was more about helping Patrick plan her future than recruit her.

Stewart said he and Patrick have built a friendship through the years and with Stewart having taken a similar path, he can give Patrick advice others can't.

"It's not so much us asking questions as she's asking our opinion of what do we think right now," Stewart said. "I'm glad to be there to have someone to bounce ideas off of. I'd love to see her come. I think it would be awesome for our sport if she could come over here and be out here and be successful."

FAST TIME: Martin Truex Jr. earned his second pole of the season and third of his career Saturday.

Truex, whose other pole this season was for the Daytona 500, averaged 184.149 mph around Atlanta Motor Speedway. Kasey Kahne (183.497 mph) starts second with Jimmie Johnson (183.358), Jeff Gordon (182.994) and Kyle Busch (182.771) completing the top five.

Matt Kenseth, who holds the last transfer spot for the title Chase, qualified 15th.

Erik Darnell, who replaced Bobby Labonte because of sponsorship at Hall of Fame Racing, starts 42nd. Labonte, who took over for David Gilliland at TRG Motorsports, qualified 25th. Gilliland, who replaced an ailing Bill Elliott (cracked ribs), qualified 17th for the Wood Brothers.

HEALING TIME: Carl Edwards says that if everything goes well, it will take eight weeks for his broken right foot to heal. Edwards, who used crutches to get through the garage, says the only time the foot hurts him in the car is when he pushes too hard on the pedal.

QUOTE OF THE DAY 1: Carl Edwards on what Jack Roush said to him when Edwards told his boss he broke his foot playing Frisbee. "Jack's reaction was something along the lines, 'You just can't go a day without showing everybody how dumb you are, can you?' " Edwards laughed as he told the story.

QUOTE OF THE DAY 2 : Denny Hamlin on what he could do to help teammate Kyle Busch get a spot in the Chase: "Just pumping him up. He can't let his head get in the way of his brain."

Hamlin was referencing Busch's emotions sometimes getting the best of him, something Busch says he's working to improve.

QUOTE OF THE DAY 3: Jeff Gordon on if he ever plays Frisbee: "Not recently. I think I might think twice about it now the next time I go out and play Frisbee."

CHANGE OF PLANS: Scott Miller, crew chief for Jeff Burton, also has taken on the added duties of director of competition for Richard Childress Racing as the team's reorganization. He'll hold both duties through the end of the year and then relinquish the crew chief role for next year. He said that the team looked at making the move last year but decided against it.

PIT STOPS: Bootie Barker, replaced as crew chief for Michael Waltrip, served as Max Papis' crew chief. Papis' team, Germain Racing, has a technical alliance with Michael Waltrip Racing, which loaned Barker to the team. &ellipses; The Charlotte Observer reports that Brad Keselowski has asked Tony Eury Jr., formerly Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s crew chief, to be Keselowski's crew chief next season at Penske Racing.

Contact Dustin Long at 373-7062 or dustin.long@news-record.com