Transcript: Danica Patrick at Bristol(8/23/2013)

Source

DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 GODADDY CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Bristol Motor Speedway and discussed practice, her visit with Tony Stewart and much more. Full Transcript: 

HOW IS THE CAR SO FAR?
“We were really tight to start second practice and we made a lot of improvements there. I think that is what helped us get going so well in qualifying trim. We just didn’t make improvements during qualifying. I think we have a lot to go off of and I’m proud of everyone for working so hard. It’s a lot to cram in, a lot of changes that we crammed in those couple of hours, but I think they are going to pay off.” 

DID YOU LEARN ANYTHING FROM BEING HERE THE LAST TIME? 
“I mean I think in general it really just has more to do with being familiar with the car, familiar with the track itself which I’ve raced here a lot now or plenty of times to feel comfortable with the track. All of it helps and all of it helps a lot more in the beginning. It’s just that learning curve in the beginning. Beyond that it really just has to do with how the car feels. If the car feels good you are going to move up. If it doesn’t then you are going to have to work on it.” 

EXCITED ABOUT MARK MARTIN BEING A PART OF THE TEAM? 
“Yeah, I’ve known Mark for a long time. He’s a really nice guy and he’s really interested in helping. That is good. Shoot he can fit in my car so maybe someday he will drive my car too. I always like getting other drivers feedback.” 

GREG ZIPADELLI SAID THERE MIGHT BE A CHANCE YOU HAVE THREE TEAMMATES NEXT YEAR. LOOKING BACK AT YOUR TIME AT ANDRETTI HOW VALUABLE IS IT HAVING AS MANY TEAMMATES AS POSSIBLE? “Well if it does work out that there are four of us on the team next year then I’m excited. I always like having more people to look at as far as their styles. There are more engineers there are more crew chiefs and more people around to develop things. For me I think it’s a great thing.” 

YOU TALK ABOUT JUST TRYING TO TAKE EVERYTHING THAT COMES YOUR WAY. IS THIS THE HARDEST PLACE TO KIND OF KEEP COMPOSURE AND KEEP YOUR COOL? “I think it can be frustrating, but there is a certain element that it does become single file and there is really nowhere for anyone to go. A lot of times where it might seem like the person right in front of you is holding you up it’s because the person in front of him is holding him up. The restarts are going to be important and that has been the case all year. That has been the most important time to make passes. Whenever you are running really close to people it always gives them a lot more of an opportunity to lay on you and that is the kind of stuff that gets you a little fired up.”

HOW CLOSE DID YOU COME TO THROWING YOUR HELMET LAST YEAR WHEN THE REGAN (SMITH) THING HAPPENED?
“(Laughs) No I don’t think I get enough helmets to throw them. I never think of that, but I do think of the fact that I want another driver to see if I’m angry. I think I made that at least mildly clear.” 

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT KURT (BUSCH) POSSIBLY COMING OVER, WHAT HE CAN BRING TO THE TEAM AND HELP YOU AS WELL? “Well I mean if like I said if I have four teammates or if there are four of us next year then I just answered it. I would like that. I would like to be able to learn from other drivers no matter who they are. If it just happens to be Kurt then he is a fantastic driver and he gets up on the wheel and I feel like there would be a lot that all of us could learn.” 

HAVE YOU SPENT TIME WITH KURT (BUSCH) PERSONALLY AWAY FROM THE TRACK? “Shoot the only driver I spend a lot of time with personally is Ricky (Stenhouse, Jr.). We spend so much time at the track together, but I have known Kurt for a long time. Shoot it goes all the way back to when he drove an IndyCar at Sebring I believe. He drove a Rahal Letterman car and I was there watching that day. I’ve always really liked him and got along really well with him. We’ve never had any problems on the track at all so we have a good working relationship for sure.” 

THERE WAS A REPORT THIS WEEK THAT MICHAEL ANDRETTI IS TALKING TO JUAN (PABLO MONTOYA) ABOUT POSSIBLY GOING OVER THERE. WHAT KIND OF A FIT WOULD JUAN BE WITH THE ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT GROUP? “I don’t know. I think it all depends on who you end up having to work with and what your obligations are with the team. Things always feel like they are going really well if you are running well. If you are running well it will all be great.” 

TONY (STEWART) APPARENTLY HAS THE ABILITY TO TALK ON THE RADIO FROM HIS HOME. DID HE SAY ANYTHING TO YOU IN PRACTICE? “Tony (Stewart) was trying to talk on the radio, but I couldn’t hear him. I could hear him key up, so I’m happy for him for that because the poor guy is laid up for such a long time. He barely can move around, so I’m glad that he’s able to get interactive with us and gosh technology huh it’s pretty awesome.” 

HAVE YOU HAD A CHANCE TO TALK TO HIM A LITTLE MORE THIS WEEK?
“I went and saw him this week again and he is progressively getting better you know. We were joking about how he has to go to the hospital to get a check-up and how the ambulance comes, and they bring him out on a stretcher. Poor guy. But he was in good spirits and he was definitely of the mindset that he needs to do it right, and do rehab right. You know, they hope that he can be back in January. And if he does, he is like, ‘I don’t need to be back any sooner, so let’s just do this right’, and I think that is the right attitude. So I think he is in a really good place……as good of a place that you can be with many incisions in your leg.”

DO YOU MISS TONY BEING AT THE RACE TRACK?
“It hasn’t been that long that he hasn’t been here. So I think that in general he is a great driver, we have similar styles and similar feels with the car, and he plays a really good cheerleader. I think the team has done a really good job of keeping their cool and being up for any of the challenges. I never felt like the team has been disrupted by other drivers coming into the 14 car, so I feel like they are all doing a really good job. That comes with putting good people in. So, I just miss it because he is a great driver and he is the leader of this team.”

HOW DIFFERENT FOR YOU IS THE TIRE TEST IN PHOENIX AS OPPOSED TO THE TEAM TEST AT RICHMOND?
“Well, I have only done one tire test and it was at Daytona. You do get a fair amount of time to work on the car, but there is definitely dedicated time to running different sets of tires and things like that. Even though it’s not a full test for the team to run through the changes, any time is good time for me in developing a good relationship with Goodyear. Just having a hand in picking a tire is a big benefit. You are always going to pick one that you feel you run the best with. So I think that is good or at least being able to have a feel for it so you know what is coming when they choose a certain kind of tire. Honestly sometimes maybe the most interesting tire isn’t the most consistent one; it’s the one that goes off the most. It’s all good for me; track time is good for me. Only running a couple times at Phoenix in a Cup car, I think it’s really good for me to run somewhere like that.” 

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A TIRE THAT YOU FEEL MOST COMFORTABLE WITH OR ARE YOU TRYING TO KEEP IN MIND EVERYBODY ELSE OR IS THAT NOT YOUR JOB THAT IS GOODYEAR’S JOB? “I think you keep in mind how it feels for you and then how you think it will make the race run. Those are the two factors. I don’t know how other people’s cars run with certain tires so you can’t go off of that. You really just need to sort of feel out what is best for you and then decide. Ultimately Goodyear is going to make the choice. A lot of it is just running that green tire and seeing how the regular tire runs to the green tire so we can transition over to that and getting miles on it. Sometimes it’s just a matter of doing a full run to see how the tire degrades make sure there are no issues. Giving feedback is really the core of it.” 

YOU GOT A GIFT AT NEW HAMPSHIRE FROM BRUTON SMITH. CAN YOU EXPAND ON THAT? “Bruton has given me now two pairs of shoes which is now one more than Ricky (Stenhouse, Jr.). (Laughs) I’m just kidding.” 

RICKY’S WERE BOOTS THOUGH…
“That’s true he has got way more of an upper hand with the boots. He has got him beat never mind, just heels he doesn’t. Anyway they were Jimmy Choo’s this time and they are very fancy, very dressy. I haven’t found the right occasion for them. I thought I was going to wear them during the ESPY’s but it didn’t match my dress right. I will find a home for them I promise you that.” 

WHAT BRAND OF SHOE’S WERE THE FIRST ONE’S? “The first ones were Y. Jaiselle’s. Yeah, they were very comfortable and I have worn them lots. Sometimes it’s just good to be a girl.” 

NASCAR stars visit PGA Championship

Source

For two special fans enjoying the action at Oak Hill Country Club, a good drive usually refers to an entirely different sport.  Actually, according to NASCAR drivers Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Danica Patrick, the sports may not be all that different.

The duo, who will be racing in nearby Watkins Glen over the weekend, came in to Rochester to take in the sights and sounds of the 95th PGA Championship.  Stenhouse, an avid golfer who sports a single-digit handicap, and Patrick - a new but enthusiastic player - welcomed the opportunity to watch other top athletes excel under extreme pressure.

"When you're in a car, it's a battle of focus and endurance," Stenhouse Jr. stated. "Your concentration level has to stay sharp, you can't get mentally or physically fatigued.  Golf is four hours and those same skills play a big part."

Golf is actually a favorite pasttime for many drivers on the NASCAR circuit, as Stenhouse explained that the quirks of a driver's schedule often allowed for breaks in time where getting away from the intense practices and demands made the golf course a natural destination.

Stenhouse Jr., who has a shot a career-best 74, was excited about what he'd see and learn while watching the world's best players. "As a lefty, I'm always going to root for Phil and Bubba.  And of course, love watching Tiger and what he does and means to the sport."

So for fans who happen to notice one couple who may be walking a bit faster than the others - it's because passing people is what they are most accustomed to. But their aim is to simply enjoy the golf and the players. Just watch out if they find a golf cart or two.

Transcript: Danica Patrick Interview at MIS

Source
DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Michigan International Speedway, and discussed the No. 14 car, racing at Michigan and other topics. Full transcript:

HAVE YOU TALKED WITH TONY STEWART?
“Not since Ricky (Stenhouse) and I went and saw him in the hospital. I haven’t talked to him, but have texted with him a little bit. I’ve heard he’s kind of getting back in the game you know. He wants to know everything that’s going on. He wants to be able to hear what we’re doing. He’s off the meds and back to life again.”

ARE YOU HAPPY TO HAVE AUSTIN DILLON IN THE NO. 14 CAR THIS WEEKEND?
“Yeah, it’s nice to have a teammate that you know. Obviously, running with Austin (Dillon) in the Nationwide Series, I know him. I love getting otherdrivers perspectives on the cars and just kind of hearing the way they describe things. I think it will be good for the team. He’s young, he’s got fire and he wants to do it. I think he will be a good addition for however long it works out for.”

HOW DOES THE TRACK FEEL TODAY?
“It feels like a smooth track. We came here earlier in the year and I struggled and didn’t feel very comfortable, but we worked really, really hard on trying to get a car that was more consistent and predictable and felt better. Actually, we kind of started working towards it here in the race and by the end of the race I felt really good. We had double-stinted the left sides and it was the best the car had felt. We made a lot of improvements and have continued to make improvements since we were here last. When I first went out on the track, I thought, ‘Man, this feels like a whole different car.’ White literally it probably is, it just feels so much better than the last time.”

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE SPEEDS?“I was thinking about that because we were talking about the normal pick up from practice to qualifying and that qualifying pole was slower than what quite a few people have run. That just means in my head that all the teams have had time to work with this new car, make it better, make improvements and I think that by seeing the speeds come up from the last time, it’s a result of how hard the teams have been working to make the cars better. We work our butts off and we do a lot of testing and it’s nice when it shows.”

DO THESE CARS FEEL FAST TO YOU?
“I think any car that feels comfortable and is good feels like a moderate speed and any car that is not working right and doesn’t feel good, those are the cars that feel like you’re going at warp speed. I’ve had both in both conditions. Gosh, I can remember back in the IndyCar days here being so loose one time and feeling like I was doing 160 miles per hour instead of 220 or whatever we were doing. It all depends on the balance of the car. It’s all relative. Let’s face it, a smaller percentage when you’re working up in the 200s.”

DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU PICKED UP WHERE YOU LEFT OFF HERE IN JUNE?
“That’s what I was just saying is it feels so much better than when we were here last and that’s just a result of (Tony) Gibson (crew chief) and myself and the engineers working together and finding a setup that’s more comfortable for me right off the bat and then also working on the car itself and making improvements there. It feels better than when we were here last.”

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES THAT YOUNG DRIVERS MIGHT FACE COMING FROM NATIONWIDE OR OTHER SERIES INTO SPRINT CUP REGARDING EXPECTATIONS?
“I think that it’s always difficult as a driver to say the words like my goal is top-20. It’s not what it needs to be at some point. While you’re ultimate goal is to win and if the opportunity presents itself, you’ll be ready, you still have to set realistic goals along the way to keep yourself upbeat and to keep everybody else upbeat. That’s been something I’ve dealt with this year. I think coming off of last year I expected to do a little bit better and I let things get me frustrated and I let my spot on the track kind of take me out of my game a little bit I think. I pushed the limits a little bit too much and we took that week off and I just kind of looked at the season so far and said, ‘Man, every time I try so hard something bad happens and every time I just take whatever the car will give me and whatever the race will give me they are much better days.’ It’s just figuring out you yourself what makes you work and what makes you get the best results possible. For some it might be to get fired up and for others it might be just relax and let the race come to you. It’s just figuring that out. Everybody’s different.”

HOW MUCH DOES THAT FRUSTRATION CARRYOVER TO THE REST OF THE TEAM?
“When you’re in the middle of being frustrated and wanting more and having some tough days, you don’t think that you’re making anyone mad, but we were testing at Nashville this weekend and we were just sitting there having lunch and one of my guys said, ‘I don’t know what you’ve been doing the last few weeks, but it’s been a noticeable difference in you and everything seems to be going so much better and everybody notices and appreciates it.’ Let it be a lesson that if you think something is going on, it is.”

DID IT SURPRISE YOU THAT THEY SAID THAT?
“No, no. I think the best relationship you can have is being honest with your guys and with people that you work with. I don’t think so because being the one in the middle of it, to actually come to the realization that you’re trying too hard probably means you’re trying too hard in a pretty obvious way. Like I said, you have to figure that out yourself, you can’t tell somebody to relax. You want someone to push hard so you can’t just tell them to back off. They have to figure it out themselves.”

HOW IMPORTANT ARE TIRES TO RACING?
“It’s the chicken and the egg. If we didn’t have tires, you can’t go. They’re very important of course. Tires are very important and most importantly here at Michigan there’s a lot of strategies to tires here because it’s repave and very smooth and the tires have a lot of longevity. You can play a lot of different strategies with them, which I think makes the racing more interesting.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT BRISTOL?
“I’ve liked Bristol since I went there the first time. I remember when I stepped foot onto that track, it was the day before, it was load in day and I looked out there and you’re standing on the straightaway, but it sure seems like a corner. It’s a very cool track and a spectacle for the fans. I feel like that is always the one that everyone says, ‘I want to come see the Bristol night race.’ I feel like the attendance lately has been great, the coverage has been great of NASCAR and I think we’ll get a lot of people out there.”

Faith on the Frontstretch: From Victory Lane to “Lawn Service”-Ricky mention

Source

“...and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1b

When Nick Terry’s neighborhood was hit by a tornado last year, he watched people drive through to witness the damage, but not stop to help. So when he found out tornadoes hit close to Texas Motor Speedway, theMotor Racing Outreach chaplain felt God calling him to lend a hand. 

“My heart broke for those people who had damage from the tornadoes,” he said. “So it was a great place to serve.”

Terry gathered a few MRO staffers and a variety of racing folks including a car chief, engineer, mechanic, hauler driver, media people, pit crew members and racecar drivers. His team of 20 volunteers joined the clean-up effort organized by Samaritan’s Purse. The group spent the morning sawing up overturned trees and removing branches, fencing and other debris from several yards.

One homeowner asked where the volunteers were from and was amazed to find out it was NASCAR guys working in his yard. The man said he had watched the Friday night Nationwide race on television and told chaplain Terry, “Last night, that Ricky Stenhouse did an awesome job!” 

Terry motioned toward Stenhouse Jr. a short distance away and told the man, “He’s standing right there. He’s right there in your yard cleaning up!”
Can you imagine watching a champion celebrate in Victory Lane one night, and then find him doing “lawn service” for you the next morning? That’s the kind of thing you never forget. And it happened to one race fan because a group of guys shared the love of Jesus by helping tornado victims. 

Who were those young men? Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Trevor Bayne, Blake Koch, Michael McDowell, Josh Wise and a host of others; all with hearts dedicated to serving. 

What motivates busy, famous guys to do lawn service, selflessly donating their time to clean up a storm-ravaged neighborhood? 

“It is just the love of God. That’s what they’re all about,” Terry said, and he knows them well. He leads the group of young drivers in a Bible study on the morning of the Nationwide race each week. “The Bible says Jesus came to serve, not to be served. It models the life of Christ when we can serve like that.”
Terry said one older gentleman was deeply touched and just couldn’t believe NASCAR drivers took time to help him. 

“We told him, ‘We just want to share the same love that God has shared with us, with you.'" 

Before the day was over, volunteers prayed with this homeowner and he accepted Jesus into his heart. It’s a poignant reminder to us all that nothing we do for another person is in vain. An act of service can end up affecting someone’s life for eternity.

Like Terry and his driver buddies, you and I can share the love of Jesus by reaching out to others, using whatever talents or simple skills we already possess. Because where the rubber meets the road, serving and loving is what life is truly about.
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. ~ 1 Peter 4:10

Danica and Ricky are living love in the fast lane

Source-usatoday(nate ryan)

 In a secluded bar at the rear of Sandy Point Restaurant, concern crosses Danica Patrick's face as she glances at her boyfriend.

During a two-hour dinner of loving wisecracks and gushing compliments at this lobster house on the bucolic shores of Lake Winnipesaukee, here is what counts for an awkward moment with auto racing's most famous pairing.

"We don't have utensils," Patrick says, staring blankly at a plate of mozzarella sticks.

"Why do you need those? You're supposed to use your hands," Ricky Stenhouse Jr. says with a devilish pause. "You want me to feed it to you?"

She smiles. "Yeah, baby."

NASCAR's First Couple might seem odd only because their relationship has been so ordinary despite the extraordinary circumstances.

Patrick and Stenhouse are battling for Sprint Cup rookie of the year on the track, but away from the spotlight, they have built a caring yet competitive relationship around screwball comedies, high-end shopping excursions and competitive rounds of golf.

STANDINGS: Complete Sprint Cup points

They somehow have managed dating and racing each other seamlessly — well except for those two instances in which they slammed into each other at full speed.

"I guess it has been a little easier than we thought," Patrick tells USA TODAY Sports in their first extended sit-down as a couple. "It is unique. It is different. But you just can't pick when love happens and with whom."

COLUMN: Give rookie Danica Patrick a break

In this case, romance has blossomed at the most critical juncture of Patrick's career — her rookie season in NASCAR's premier series.

As the circuit moves to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Sunday's Brickyard 400, Patrick is 27th in points with one top-10 finish this season, while Stenhouse is 21st. Although her mass marketing appeal has guaranteed sponsorship for years regardless of results, Patrick admits that she must start improving.

GLUCK: Bad racing aside, keep NASCAR at Brickyard

"I'm not really in transition anymore," she says. "Most of the (series) I'd been in for a long time, I was like, 'One more year, two more years. Don't rock the boat, do the best you can.' Now I'm like, 'Holy crap, I've got to make this right.' (Sprint Cup) is it for me, you know? It needs to be better because I'm not waiting for the next thing. This is it. Or there won't be a next thing."

Yet it's been mostly sunshine and roses away from the track for Patrick, who revealed her Stenhouse news in January, two months after announcing the end of her seven-year marriage. It initially seemed the NASCAR universe might implode from the virtually unprecedented pairing, but the glare faded quickly.

When Patrick accidentally spun Stenhouse at New Hampshire Motor Speedway two weeks ago, it hardly caused a stir aside from the most popular woman in motor sports joking to Jay Leno on The Tonight Show that she "did sleep on the couch that night." There have been no wisecracks from fellow drivers or scandal-sheet headlines about their unusual union — not that it matters to the couple.

"It's not that we really care what people say," Patrick says. "I didn't think about it a ton. Maybe a little bit. But I think people mostly were just happy for us."

Says ESPN analyst and 1999 champion Dale Jarrett: "They're probably extremely happy that it's become a non-issue. As much attention as Danica gets, you wonder why there isn't as much on the relationship, but a lot of it probably goes to the fact that neither one of them said, 'This is what we're all about.' They've said, 'We're here to do our jobs as race car drivers,' so I think that maybe everyone said, 'OK, they don't want to talk about it anywhere past this, and we're not going to get much more out of it,' so it became a non-issue, and I think that's the way it should be."

IN DEPTH: 12 Questions with Dale Jarrett

Though they've kept their feelings low profile, it isn't because they are playing it cool. On the contrary, Patrick and Stenhouse have been virtually inseparable, even during their daily crossfit training routines. At the track, they use one motor home for living and sleeping quarters and the other for Patrick's noted culinary skills ("D's Diner" or "Café D" as Stenhouse has dubbed it).

"Does it worry me at all being together so much? No, because we're worse apart," Patrick says. "We're much better together."

"I mean, we're apart for at least four hours on Sundays," Stenhouse jokes.

"But I'm still as close as anyone can get to him that whole time," Patrick says.

The arrangement might be working well because there hasn't been much of an on-track rivalry or consistent success to attract the spotlight's glare. While Stenhouse contended for a victory at Kansas and has been in the hunt for a Chase for the Sprint Cup bid, he also is currently ranked 21st in points and still seeking his first top 10. So is Patrick whose results have faded since starting the season as the first female Sprint Cup pole-sitter and the first woman to lead the Daytona 500.

Maybe it works simply because "they both seem extremely happy," Tony Stewart tells USA TODAY Sports. The three-time champion has fielded cars for both — the No. 10 Chevrolet for Patrick in Cup and USAC sprint cars for Stenhouse. "I've been around Ricky a lot longer than I've been around Danica, but Ricky seems the happiest I've ever seen him, and that's definitely the happiest I've ever seen Danica," Stewart says. "It seems like everything is going really, really well."

So how far along are Patrick and Stenhouse in their relationship? Well, they've met the parents, they're buying each other clothes and they've entered into various stages of cohabitation and compromise. (Patrick is using slightly fewer vulgarities; Stenhouse is drinking slightly more wine.) But the adoring and devoted bond hasn't prompted any talk of wedding bells in the near future (though they toyed with pranking the news media with a photo tweet in front of a Las Vegas chapel).

"We're enjoying it," Stenhouse says.

"But if you continue to enjoy it for long enough," Patrick adds, "then it's just common law in some states."

CROWDED HOUSE

Patrick, 31, spends much of her free time with Stenhouse in the Lake Norman area about 20 miles north of Charlotte at a house where her boyfriend rents a bedroom from his accountant, Ehren Hull.

She keeps her belongings on the floor of a spare room that holds Stenhouse's racing simulator, which serves as a hanger for some of her clothes.

"See, that's how much this is true love," Patrick laughs.

PHOTOS: Danica Patrick's NASCAR career

She doesn't seem to be bothered that Stenhouse, who has been looking to buy a large tract of land for a cattle ranch and motocross track, also shares a residence with a family of four (including two young children).

"It's fun with a whole bunch of people," Patrick says.

The scene is markedly different when they stay at Patrick's River North condo in Chicago. Stenhouse, 25, accompanies his girlfriend on shopping trips to Barneys New York, Lululemon Athletica and other Magnificent Mile stores.

Her favorite? "All of them," says Stenhouse, sitting patiently at dinner while Patrick giggles her way through sharing an email meme about being a young woman in Chicago: "Show the world you're a girl who's self-worthy of $80 yoga pants."

Shortly after ordering (one-pound king baked stuffed lobsters for each, with glazed carrots for Patrick and potato wedges for Stenhouse), Patrick frets about asking for a black napkin.

"Let's keep that in my inner monologue," she says. "What's that Will Ferrell skit about how to train a dog? The dog won't eat his food, and he's like, 'Oh, I'm sorry, The Palm was full tonight. It's going to be the Alpo.'"

"She knows all of Will Ferrell's Saturday Night Live lines," says Stenhouse, noting the couple gave two thumbs up to a screening of Grown Ups 2 a night earlier.

DEAL MAKING

The topic switches to their mismatched sense of fashion and Patrick's high-falutin tastes. "I'm pretty sure that 80% of the time he looks at my outfit and goes, 'I don't get it,'" she laughs. Stenhouse is slightly embarrassed to be wearing a $75 James Perse T-shirt bought for him by Patrick.

"Are you kidding me? I grew up wearing free racing T-shirts," Stenhouse says. "What's wrong with still wearing them?"

There's a similar kind of deal making when it comes to wine. Stenhouse grudgingly imbibes to keep his significant other happy during wine pairings of 15-course meals, such as her birthday dinner at Providence restraurant in Los Angeles.

"I can drink some white now and then, but I don't really like it," Stenhouse says. "I just drink it more so that when I kiss her, it's not that bad."

These seem like major concessions for a native of Olive Branch, Miss., who "can live on Sweet Tarts. I'm pretty sure my body turns them into protein."

But aside from attending fewer dirt-track races, Stenhouse says life with Patrick hasn't changed too much.

"I hang out with a bunch of girls now, but other than that," he laughs, then pauses. "No, I don't really think there's anything different."

"So I'm awesome?" Patrick asks.

"Pretty much," he says.

MEETING THE PARENTS

She isn't very good at golf, which she is trying to master so she can join her guy (who has played regularly since his freshman year of high school) more often on the links.

Stenhouse's handicap is about 8. Patrick's? "My temper."

That doesn't stop her from vowing to take a round off Stenhouse "in a couple of years," particularly when he agrees to let her shoot from the women's tees.

"Baby, if it means winning, I'll take it," she says. "You want to handicap me in the car and give me 20 extra horsepower because I'm a girl, that's fine, too."

Competitive spirit is a cornerstone of the relationship, as Patrick also brags about making up a 20-second deficit to finish 45 seconds ahead of Stenhouse in a four-round CrossFit workout.

But there also are signs of yielding by Patrick, who wears cowboy boots and hats and has learned to cook liver mush for Stenhouse.

"I drink a lot less wine, and I don't swear as much," she says.

"Yeah, my mom doesn't like it," says Stenhouse, who warned Patrick before their first trip to Mississippi.

There was another family outing last month with both sets of parents at Kentucky Speedway, where the drivers made use of the extra space in two motor homes to house their relatives for cookouts and golf.

"Meeting the parents is the easiest," Stenhouse jokes. "Let's be honest: Parents like me."

Says Patrick: "Parents are worried about me and wonder, 'What's she really like?' Then they realize I'm sweet. I take care of you."

That was evident as the couple strode out of the empty restaurant in New Hampshire, and an employee called out, "Good luck racing this weekend, Danica!"

"You know Ricky's racing Sunday, too," she counters. "You can root for him!"

Stenhouse smiles sheepishly, but the support is something he appreciates, particularly after qualifying.

"Either she's trying to get me to laugh, or I'm trying to get her to laugh," he says. "Generally, it seems like one of us has a good mood or a bad mood."

"What am I like in a bad mood?" Patrick asks.

"Wonderful," Stenhouse replies without missing a beat.

"That's why we're going to make it, honey," Patrick says with a smile.

Danica Patrick says she slept on couch after wrecking boyfriend Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Source

Danica Patrick joked that she had to sleep on the couch after wrecking boyfriend Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Sunday during an appearance Tuesday night on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Patrick was involved in a wreck at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in which she lost control of her car and spun into Stenhouse, crashing him and Travis Kvapil.

When asked about the incident by Leno, Patrick said jokingly, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She then added: “I hit the brakes on a restart going into Turn 1 and got sideways and took a couple of people out with me.”

MORE: Danica apologizes for wreck | Danica won't pose nude | First Ricky-Danica wreck

Asked how fast she was going, she said, “Too fast, obviously.”

Leno then asked her how she handles such incidents with Stenhouse, the fellow rookie driver whom she starting dating this season.

“I did sleep on the couch that night,” she joked. “I just need to give him more space. We want me more space (on the track).”

Patrick and Stenhouse, who have been open about their budding relationship, also were involved in a wreck at Charlotte. Stenhouse hit Patrick during that race, and Patrick said later that she refused to speak to her boyfriend on the ride home.

PHOTOS: Danica photos | NASCAR's Most Beautiful | NASCAR Wives & Girlfriends

Leno also asked Patrick about her Super Bowl commercials for sponsor Go Daddy. Patrick has appeared in more Super Bowl commercials (10) than any other celebrity.

“I feel very lucky. We have some fun with them,” she said.

Patrick admitted that she has turned down some of Go Daddy’s more racy ideas.

“They have come to me with some scripts and some story(lines) and I’m like, ‘Hmm, getting out of a swimming pool wearing a little red bikini, no, that’s not for me,’” she said.

“I’ve said no before and they’ve been very respectful of that.”

Stenhouse on his own track

Source

FONTANA, Calif. -- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was braced for the onslaught of questions about his love life as he waited for an interview with E! News on the roof of his No. 17 hauler two weeks ago at Auto Club Speedway.

After all, this was the entertainment network that makes headlines out of celebrity gossip stories about Lindsay Lohan and Kim Kardashian.

Stenhouse's only claim to that type of celebrity status and gossip column fodder is, well …Danica Patrick.

But a surprising thing happened. Patrick's name came up only once -- or twice.

"When they said we were going to do [the interview] I thought it was going to be all about that," Stenhouse said of his relationship with Patrick. "But shockingly, it wasn't. They actually asked a lot of racing questions. What goes on? What's a crew chief do up here? So I was kind of surprised. It turned out to be a great interview.

"I thought that was kind of cool."

So the actual E! News piece was on the couple, not so much their racing. What did you expect?

But with all the attention focused on who will replace injured Denny Hamlin in the No. 11, Tony Stewart's feud against Joey Logano and Dale Earnhardt Jr. moving into the points lead, the latest on one of the biggest stories of the NASCAR season has been overlooked.

Stenhouse has left Patrick.

Not literally.

Stenhouse has left his fellow Sprint Cup rookie behind in the point standings and almost every other statistical category.

Heading into Sunday's race at Martinsville Speedway he is 12th in points, 62 behind Earnhardt. Patrick is 29th, 112 behind Earnhardt and 50 behind Stenhouse.

So while they may have moved closer off the track, they're growing father apart on it.

Asked by E! News if her struggles have made for some silent dinners, Patrick laughed.

"It's been a little challenging," she said. "I'll say, 'Babe, am I less hot when I'm not good on the track? Does that make me less attractive?' And he's like, 'I'm not with you because you're a race car driver.'"

And Stenhouse, 25, isn't in NASCAR's premier series because of whom he dates. He's first and foremost a race car driver.

Fortunately, that hasn't been overshadowed by his love life, as some suspected it might before the season, when his relationship was the main topic around the garage.

"It's been good," Stenhouse said. "We haven't had the focus off track since Daytona got going."

That doesn't mean Stenhouse shies away from drawing attention to the relationship. During prerace introductions at Bristol he told the crowd, "Hey guys, she's taken."

But Stenhouse obviously hasn't let the relationship become a distraction to his work. He's one of only five drivers to complete all 1,483 laps this season. The others are Earnhardt, second-placeBrad Keselowski, fifth-place Greg Biffle and eighth-place Paul Menard.

Patrick, 31, has completed 144 fewer laps.

Stenhouse has a respectable 16.4 average finish, which is better than four-time champion Jeff Gordon, three-time champion Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer -- to name a few.

Patrick's average finish is 26.8, 31.5 since she set history with an eighth-place finish in the Daytona 500.

Roush Fenway Racing owner Jack Roush couldn't be happier with Stenhouse's progression since he was named the replacement for Matt Kenseth, who moved to Joe Gibbs Racing. He hasn't been concerned about Patrick being a distraction since the news first broke his driver was dating her.

"I looked him in the eye and asked him about that," Roush said. "He assured me some things were more important than others, and that he'd take care of things in the proper order."

RFR president Steve Newmark understands why people might think Stenhouse would be distracted by the TMZ fodder.

"But he is so laser focused on being a championship driver, it was easy to see he wasn't going to be distracted," he said.

If anything, Newmark and Roush have had to temper Stenhouse's expectations. While their driver expected to contend for wins and a title just as he did in winning the past two Nationwide Series titles, they understood the steep learning curve.

Stenhouse understands it better now, too.

"It's not very much fun not competing for wins like we did in the Nationwide Series, but that will come with time," he said.

The learning curve will be even sharper this weekend as Stenhouse and Patrick race at Martinsville Speedway for the first time. For Patrick, it will be another historic moment in that no woman has competed at the half-mile track in a Cup car.

Stenhouse just hopes to avoid what many rookies do on their first trip to the paper clip-shaped track.

"I remember the first several races I ran there, I ran into everything," said Earnhardt, who now claims Martinsville to be one of his best tracks. "I ran into other race cars, walls, pace cars … just about everything that could be ran into, I found it."

But Stenhouse has shown the patience and maturity that makes one believe he'll negotiate the track better than most first-timers.

Not since Hamlin finished third in the final standings in 2006 has a rookie been this high in points. Only six of the 25 drivers who finished in the top 25 a year ago were top 10 in their first season. The average position in the final points standings for that group was 16.68.

Reigning Cup champion Brad Keselowski finished 25th in points in his first full season.

So at this point, Stenhouse is ahead of the game.

"We're getting better," he said. "If we keep building every week and learn from the mistakes, at some point this year maybe we can compete for a couple of wins."

One day, RFR expects Stenhouse to compete for titles. He is a cornerstone for the future of the organization.

"He's such a competitive guy, which is why he is where he is," Newmark said. "He's got a drive that is unmatched out there. But it is one of those things you've got to preach patience to him and make him understand he's in it for the long haul."

Stenhouse has kept that perspective through all the attention surrounding his love life. And he's not nearly as concerned about being identified as Patrick's boyfriend as he is being confused with Richard Childress Racing Nationwide Series driver Austin Dillon, who like him wears a cowboy hat around the garage and in public.

"I was walking around at Bristol and some guy came up and said, 'Austin, sign this for me,'" Stenhouse recalled of one incident. "I looked at him and went back to talking to my Best Buy [sponsor] group that was there.

"Then he was, 'Austin!' I'm like, 'I'm not Austin!' I gave him like four chances and he still thought I was Austin."

That sounds like something for E! News. But Stenhouse's goal isn't to be a part of entertainment gossip. It's to be a championship driver.

"Like I was trying to tell everybody at media day, once we get on the track everybody will be talking about the new car -- and obviously Joey and Denny has kind of taken the spotlight away -- which has been nice," Stenhouse said. "I thought it would get a little bit better, and it has.

"I'm just glad I was right about that."