HAMPTON, Ga. -- Her plan is to play it smart and be there at the end.

That's good advice for a rookie driver in NASCAR's Camping World Truck Series, but it's even better advice for a female looking for longevity and lasting success in the sport's big leagues.

“

... I think having a female on the track consistently, week in and week out, will make a difference.

”

JENNIFER JO COBB

Jennifer Jo Cobb, a 36-year-old Kansas native who has been racing intermittently since she was 18 -- is the first female to campaign a full season of stock-car racing since Erin Crocker in 2006.

And now that Danica Patrick's open-wheel hiatus has begun, Cobb hopes the spotlight can shine on her for a while.

"The thing I try to sell to potential sponsors is that finally we have a female that is making a full-time commitment to NASCAR; I have no desire to race in any other series and I think having a female on the track consistently, week in and week out, will make a difference," said Cobb, who will make her first Atlanta Motor Speedway start Saturday in the E-Z-GO 200.

Her team is young and the funds are modest, but finishing races and running in the top 20, Cobb believes, are realistic goals for this season.

"We may start our season at Daytona, but Atlanta will be our first 'real' race," she said. "Restrictor-plate racing is its own animal. So much can happen that's out of your control, plus your driving style is so much different at superspeedways than anywhere else. This week will show what we can expect for most of the year."

With help from investors, Cobb purchased the assets of the No. 10 truck from Rick Crawford, whose Circle Bar Racing team downsized from a two-truck operation to one.

The sponsor of her No. 10 truck is Driver Boutique and Driven, which make up the women's and men's online clothing business Cobb began in 2006.

"My thinking was that it would be a seed I could plant -- as I developed my career it would grow, as well, and then help me to go racing," she said. "It's constantly evolving."

Also evolving is the women's movement in NASCAR. Not since the days of Shawna Robinson and Patty Moise has the sport seen a female make a Cup Series start, but Cobb and other females championing the movement believe the sport is closer than ever to the day where fans will see a female compete with regularity.

"The talent pool has more depth, more young girls racing midgets at 6. It has taken a long time to get to this point but what has happened is that now it's OK for our daughters to do what our sons want to do. Still, it won't be an overnight success," said Lyn St. James, a former IndyCar racer and developmental coach for up-and-coming female drivers, including Patrick when she was a young girl.

"Danica is the leading force right now and the one getting all the attention but the number of young girls showing up at race tracks right now is nothing new," she added.

At the start of the season, the ARCA Series had a record number of nine female drivers participate in the preseason test including Patrick, who created a media frenzy but also momentum and attention for other females looking for sponsorship. Cobb hasn't experienced a direct impact from Danica mania but her name is popping up more frequently in online and print media outlets.

"I come up in more Google searches now, but if you're talking about broadcast coverage, I think Danica is hurting exposure for other female drivers because the telecast is focused solely on her," Cobb lamented.

During the ARCA event at Daytona, five other female competitors were on the track with Patrick but Cobb said you wouldn't have known it. But Cobb isn't worried about NASCAR's latest "it" girl nor is she interested in being a novelty item on the track. She's worried about running her truck team to the best of her ability.

"I miss the smell of the inside of my truck and can't wait to get buckled in again," she said. "I know we'll start out our weekend all smiles and hopefully we'll end that way, too."