Danica Patrick had all the attention heading into the Daytona 500 on Sunday and it wasn't all just because of her historic pole victory at the event, but also due to her romantic relationship with fellow driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
The two drivers made their relationship public earlier in the month and the fellow rookies took the track on Sunday for their first races of the Sprint Cup season. Patrick was still the story after the race, but that was mainly for her driving and not about her relationship.
Patrick set a record by becoming the first woman to lead the Daytona 500 and she placed higher than any female ever after finishing eighth behind champion Jimmie Johnson, who took home his second career Daytona 500 victory. Even before the race Patrick could not escape attention, as Actor James Franco served as the grand marshal and inserted her name into the iconic lines.
"Drivers - and Danica - start your engines!" he said.
Patrick raced strong throughout the race after starting out on the pole position and led during laps 90 and 91 and was as high as third on the final laps before fading back to eighth. Stenhouse Jr, finished the race 12th.
The Daytona 500 ratings were up 30 percent from last year and a large part of the reason was due to Patrick and the fact that she became the first woman to win the pole for the event. The debut of the Gen-6 cars was overshadowed by Patrick's fantastic week and added a range of intrigue to next Sunday's event at Phoenix.
"I'm jacked up, man!" said her crew chief, Tony Gibson to USA Today. "That was awesome. We had a shot to win there, and that's all you can ask for. ... She impressed the heck out of me all day long."
Phoenix International Raceway marks the next chance Patrick will hit the track with Stenhouse and after her top 10 finish she will be looked at as a legitimate contender to take the checkered flag. Patrick reached another milestone after leading laps at Daytona, as she became just the 13th driver to lead laps at both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500.
Patrick and Stenhouse started out as friends on the Nationwide circuit, where he has won the past two titles, while she was named the most popular driver last season. Following Patrick's divorce from her husband, the relationship became more serious.
"I have a boyfriend, his name is Richard," she said during an exclusive telephone interview with AP at the time in early February.
The couple was all the talk during media day last week and reporters had countless questions for the couple. All the talk about Patrick after the race was about her driving, but the relationship is sure to be a topic next week as the action moves to Phoenix.
