Danica Patrick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. are the only couple of their kind. Never before have two racers on NASCAR’s Sprint Cup circuit — to our knowledge — entered into a romantic relationship. One would think that racing against each other on the weekends while going on dinner dates during the week would be complicated, but Patrick and Stenhouse make it sound simple.
For starters, they have figured out how to consolidate space on race weekends. Patrick and Stenhouse, who were described as “inseparable” in a recent feature by USA Today Sports, use one of their motor homes at the track for living and sleeping and the other for Patrick to cook some of her best dishes.
“Does it worry me at all being together so much? No, because we’re worse apart,” Patrick told USA Today. “We’re much better together.
“I mean, we’re apart for at least four hours on Sundays. But I’m still as close as anyone can get to him that whole time.”
Patrick and Stenhouse are both ranked outside the top 20 of the Sprint Cup standings, so there’s no telling what could happen if they were ever battling each other for spots in the top 10 or had to square off in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Judging by some of the sacrifices they have made for one another, my guess is they would find a way to make it work.
Stenhouse rents a room from his accountant in a town 20 minutes north of Charlotte, and Patrick often stays there with him despite having to keep her belongings on the floor of a spare bedroom. When Stenhouse stays with Patrick, it’s at her condo in Chicago where he joins her on shopping excursions and at fancy restaurants. She has even convinced him to wear designer clothes.
“Are you kidding me? I grew up wearing free racing T-shirts,” Stenhouse said while rocking a $75 James Perse shirt that Patrick bought for him. “What’s wrong with still wearing them?”
The 25-year-old Stenhouse also drinks wine to please Patrick, though he says he doesn’t enjoy it. In return, his 31-year-old significant other has learned to cut back on the wine and the cussing.
“I drink a lot less wine, and I don’t swear as much,” she said.
“Yeah, my mom doesn’t like it,” Stenhouse added.
You would think it would be the other way around, but there are many aspects of their relationship that seem backwards. For whatever reason, it seems to work. Stenhouse’s reason for entering a relationship with Patrick wasn’t exactly an elaborate one and Danica said she knew it was a bad idea, but they seem to be enjoying it more than Brad and Angelina. Good for them.
