Danica Patrick has finally admitted that she is dating a fellow driver, ending widespread speculation about her personal life. In an interview with the Associated Press, Patrick admitted that she and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. are dating. The romance bombshell was revealed after the weeklong annual media tour of the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Fast friends
The romance of the two prominent racers seems to be right out of the movies. The two started off as rivals on the tracks before becoming fast friends. They competed against each other in the past two seasons of the Nationwide Series. Now 30-year old Patrick and 25-year old Stenhouse are an item.
Respecting the race
- Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
Why the wait before revealing the true nature of their relationship? Because according to Patrick, “It was out of respect to NASCAR” and to all those involved in the race such as the different teams, sponsors and manufacturers that they wanted the focus to be on the racing rather than on their personal lives.
Patrick and Stenhouse
The striking brunette beauty has been voted the most popular racer and has many endorsement deals including Coca-Col and GoDaddy.com. As a rookie racer in the Indy500 back in 2005, Patrick became the media darling when she became the first woman to lead laps and after she finished fourth. She made the move to NASCAR after completing the 2011 season. It was there that Stenhouse acted as a mentor to Patrick.
Stenhouse gained national attention as the two time winner of the Nationwide Series.
On-track competition
Patrick and Stenhouse will be competing in the NASCAR top Sprint Cup Series and will both be vying for the rookie of the year award.
Even with their personal lives entwining with their professional careers, the two don’t see that their dating life will affect their performance on the tracks. Both remain highly competitive and don’t foresee that they will race any differently against each other.
“I always say I’ll race people how they race me until they do something to make me change my mind. I don’t anticipate that changing at all, or us having any issues on the track”, the lady racer was quoted saying.
Stenhouse concurred saying “I race everyone hard.” He continues to say that when he is out on the tracks, he’s there to do his job and it is ‘to put on the best performance I can for my sponsors and my team and my fans.”
Danica’s divorce
Patrick is coming off from a seven year marriage to her husband Paul Hospenthal. She made the announcement in November of last year and filed for divorce January 3 in Arizona.
The rumors about the two racers started circulating since Patrick made the divorce announcement.
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