Ricky Stenhouse Jr. might have accidentally caused girlfriend Danica Patrick's car to get wrecked in competition on Sunday, but the two did not let the accident wreck their relationship off the track.
Reportedly, Patrick and Stenhouse are still going strong despite the two NASCAR rookies being involved in a car wreck at the Coca Cola 600 when Stenhouse drove his car into the side of Patrick's No.10 Chevrolet and caused her to crash during the race.
The couple relaxed later this week on a boat as they put the incident behind them, Patrick told reporters at Ponaco Raceway on Wednesday. However, she added, the ride home together was a little on the rough side.
"Oh yeah, we talked about it," Patrick said Wednesday at Pocono Raceway. "I suppose that's one of those things - you don't not talk about it because you're riding home together."
"So there were a few silent moments, for sure. Or many moments."
"You don't not talk about it because you're riding home together,'' Patrick added. "There's a few silent moments for sure, many moments. I was upset. I wasn't necessarily strictly just upset at him. He was there three wide as part of the issue.''
The incident occurred when they were racing three-wide, Patrick in the middle of the pack. Stenhouse, who claimed that he didn't see Patrick at the time, hit her car, which caused her to collide with Sprint Cup champ Brad Keselowski. Both cars sustained heavy damage, though Patrick was able to continue as she finished in 29th place while Keselowski's vehicle was damaged beyond repair.
"I've always given him a lot of room and he's done the same for me,'' Patrick said. "It was just one of those situations where we're on a restart and we're all trying to dig for what we can.''
Patrick has been the talk of the town in her rookie season in NASCAR, having become the first woman in history to capture a pole at the Daytona 500 in February, where she finished in eighth place.
Despite the wreck at the Coca-Cola 600, the most talked-about couple in racing will be fine, Patrick says.
"We'll be fine. We're fine,'' she said. "We had a lovely day on the boat, on the lake, got a sun tan.''
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