MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Jerry Gappens came to JR Motorsports on Thursday bearing gifts.

No, not early Christmas presents. These were more like, well, a bribe. Actually that's exactly what the five lobsters Gappens toted with him from New England represented -- and Gappens wasn't ashamed to openly admit it.

HHP/Harold Hinson

Danica with NHMS' Jerry Gappens

“

I am like ultra-wuss sensitive to animals dying right now. And a lobster is an animal to me. I can't imagine getting steamed to death, so I can't help but think about that when I see that poor lobster.

”

-- DANICA PATRICK

Gappens, executive vice president and general manager of New Hampshire Motor Speedway, showed up at Thursday's news conference at JR Motorsports with his lobsters in an effort to lure Danica Patrick to participate in a Nationwide Series race at his track next June.

Patrick, a popular IndyCar driver, announced a week earlier in Phoenix that she had signed a two-year deal to drive a part-time schedule in the Nationwide Series for JR Motorsports. In the meantime, she will continue to drive a full-time schedule in the IndyCar Series, where the schedule is much lighter.

There was nothing light about Gappens' carry-on luggage Thursday.

"I brought an eight-pounder and four two-pounders," Gappens said. "The two-pounders are better eating. The eight-pounder is a little bit older and a little tougher eating."

As it turned out, getting Patrick to commit to racing in the Nationwide event at Gappens' track might be a tougher sell than Gappens thought -- even though it is scheduled to go off during an off weekend for the IndyCar Series. The newest and instantly most famous female driver in NASCAR was not all that impressed with Gappens' clawing companions, and said she certainly had no intention of cooking any of them up for herself.

"I'd probably rather just see it on my plate," Patrick said after being introduced to the largest lobster. "I don't want to see how it all goes down.

"I mean, I'll still eat meat and I know the cow dies, but I don't want to see it die. I don't want to have a relationship with it while it's alive, either."

Gappens admitted that Patrick's reaction to the, um, gifts wasn't exactly what he had envisioned.

"She jumped back from the lobster. I told her I would cook it for her if she wanted," Gappens said.

Patrick explained her reaction a little later.

"I had to put my dog down that I had for 14 years in March. It was so awful," she said. "And ever since then, I have had such sadness for dead animals. I hit a bird one day and it went flying, and I had to pray for him at church because that's where I was headed to. I saw a dead bunny on the road in my neighborhood one day when I was on my way home, and cried.

"I don't know what my problem is. I am like ultra-wuss sensitive to animals dying right now. And a lobster is an animal to me. I can't imagine getting steamed to death, so I can't help but think about that when I see that poor lobster."

Patrick went on to explain that setting her Nationwide Series schedule, which will include at least 13 events both in 2010 and 2011, is going to be at least a little more scientific than which track operators bribe her with the best local food.

"As nice as it is that he would come and try to talk me into coming there, it's probably going to come down to some things a lot more substantial than that -- like my IndyCar season and the tracks I believe I should be running at, and based also on where I'm at with running the car and what I'm doing well with and what I need to work on," Patrick said of Gappens' approach.

Earlier in Thursday's news conference, it was announced that the tentative plans are for Patrick to run in an ARCA event on Feb. 6 at Daytona but hold off on making her Nationwide Series debut until the second event of the season at Fontana, Calif. She backtracked on that a bit during a separate interview later with a small group of reporters, who asked if a successful run in the ARCA event might lead to participation in the season-opening Nationwide event at Daytona instead.

"Maybe. I think that's a real possibility. You know, it's 50-50 whether or not I do it right now," Patrick replied. "It's going to be a collective idea whether or not I do the Nationwide race at Daytona. Driving the ARCA race won't be anything like driving against 30 Cup guys, though.

"That's something to think about, obviously. And I will take the advice of the people around me as to whether or not it's a good idea to do it or not."

The fact is that there aren't likely to be 30 Sprint Cup Series drivers participating in next February's Nationwide race at Daytona. Last year only 13 did, followed by 10 in the next event at Fontana.

Wherever she decides to race, Gappens said he's certain Patrick will put extra fans in the stands. He said by his estimation she would be worth an extra 5,000 to 10,000 tickets sold to the June New Hampshire event on a Saturday, preceding the Cup race Sunday.

"If I do my job as a promoter, I think she's worth that," Gappens said. "It's an inexpensive ticket, for one. We promote it for families, so we've got a $25 ticket for adults and a $5 ticket for kids.

"But I think she's great for the sport. [Someone] said, 'Well, she's only won one more race.' And my response was, 'That's one more than any other woman has ever won at this professional level.' "

There is way more to Patrick's appeal than even that which meets the eye, Gappens added.

"I think she can do for our sport what Hannah Montana did for Disney," he said. "I've got a 9-year-old daughter [Ella] who already was like, 'Danica Patrick is going to race at your place?' I told her I was going to try [to get her to], and she was very excited about that.

"For a girl in the fourth grade to get pumped up about that, I think that says a lot. I think [Patrick] is a good role model for her. She's in swimming and basketball and I want her to be competitive and have some of that drive, and I think Danica does a good job of displaying that kind of emotion, that passion."

Gappens added that he believes NASCAR in general is going to benefit greatly from Patrick's involvement, and that the Nationwide Series in particular is going to receive an immediate and significant boost.

"I definitely think NASCAR needs her. Obviously she's got sex appeal. But the biggest thing she's got is passion. She's a competitive person," Gappens said.

"She finished fourth in the Indianapolis 500 as a rookie and she was disappointed. The other part of it is, when you see her get out of a [Nationwide] car, I promised you won't hear her say, 'Well, that was a good points day.' She's going to be [ticked] if she doesn't win. That's the kind of emotion we need in this sport. I think that's great."

About the time Gappens made that comment, Patrick walked by in her six-inch stiletto heels.

"Yeah, you don't see too many of those at NASCAR press conferences," Gappens noted.

Yeah, well, you don't see many live lobsters at them, either.

"That's a good point -- especially ones that have been imported in," Gappens conceded. "Those are fresh bad boys right there."

Then he looked around for someone who might be more willing to have his traveling companions meet their destiny in a boiling pot of water, eventually locking onto Tony Eury Jr., who is set to be Patrick's Nationwide crew chief.

"Tony Jr. likes lobster, but they have a Christmas party [Thursday night] and I think these have to be cooked by tonight," said Gappens, looking worried. "They won't make it into tomorrow."

Related:
• Patrick to skip Daytona, make debut at Fontana
• IMG looks to double down with Danica and Dale Jr.