An Even Better Year Than We Thought - From Small Town to the Fast Lane: Meet Danica Patrick

Midwest Beginnings

Danica Sue Patrick was born on March 25th, 1982, in the small town of Beloit, Wisconsin, but she grew up in an even smaller town, Roscoe Illinois. Her parents were Terry Joseph Patrick Jr. and Beverly Ann Patrick.

Being a racecar driver was never on her list of dreams at the beginning. That list was, however, quite extensive: she thought about being a veterinarian, a singer, and a secretary. So how did she first get interested in driving? Just like so many other things in life, it was because she was bored. Necessity might be the mother of invention, but boredom is the mother of lifelong careers.

Starting with Go-Karts

Before she was even a teenager, Danica and her younger sister Brooke didn't have a lot to do, so the parents started looking for something they could all do together for some family bonding time.

The parents' first choice was a boat, but then the girls tried out a friend's go-kart. It was actually Brooke who first decided she wanted her own or wanted more chances at driving, but the girls tended to hang out together, so Danica wasn't far behind. Their parents assented, so Danica was only ten (and Brooke eight) when they had their own rides.

In Love With Racing

It took no time at all for Danica to fall in love with racing. She loved racing against her sister and friends, and it wasn't long before she decided she needed to start competing. She started improving in coordination, courage, and handling skills.

When she was thirteen she asked her parents if they could move to California so she could compete year-round. Some might be tempted to call Danica a child prodigy at driving, but that's not really how driving works. Drivers have to build up their nerves and skills through repeated training, and Danica was sure to keep doing so.

Not Just a Driver

Danica was training herself how to handle the vehicles, but she was still a teenager. She was a cheerleader for her high school, and also babysat for her neighbors. Imagine being able to say your babysitter was Danica Patrick. Wild. Despite these other activities, it's been told that her mind was very much on driving a good deal of the time.

Kids and teens have a wonderful ability to focus on things more than adults. They don't have to worry about taxes or taking care of kids or all that other fun stuff. Some of them focus on things that will take them around the world.

Supportive Parents

Danica's parents stuck with her and supported her the entire time she was learning the ropes to the driving world. Having a good support system makes a lot of things much easier, and Danica's parents have been cheering her on from the very beginning.

They were even there helping her win! Both of her parents knew their way around cars and machines. Her father was her first crew chief and racing coach. He changed tires, refueled, and did all the other maintenance on her cars. Her mother preferred to stay clean and kept track of all of Danica's stats instead. Talk about a family bonding activity.

Making a Name for Herself

By the time most girls were celebrating their sweet sixteens, Danica had scooped up regional and national go-kart awards. The queen of the karts began to want more, and once she finally reached the legal driving age, the world was her oyster. She was ready to shift gears to real road racing, but it wasn't going to be easy.

It was going to require a couple of things, such as making the entire family move. It was also going to require making some tough decisions. Still sixteen, Danica was still very much a child – and not fully equipped to make them all.

Spreading the Word

While Danica was working on making the transition to road racing, Danica's dad Terry began to regularly contact local news stations in order to chronicle his daughter's performance. He wanted to boost her popularity, which he knew would help her make it in the long run.

This effort paid off when MTV of all places caught wind of the up-and-coming Danica. They made a segment about her efforts, and that caught the attention of a man by the name of John Mecom Jr. He was the former owner of the New Orleans Saints and Texas oilman who was looking to bring the fledgling Patrick under his wing.

Swapping Schools

Mecom wanted to hire Danica for the United Kingdom racing circuit and offered to sponsor her. His one caveat was that she attended a high-quality racing school. The entire Patrick family was thrilled, and a deal was struck.

This led to huge changes for the entire family. One of them was moving to England, which of course meant dropping out of high school in the middle of her junior year. Leaving behind all her friends, her life, and her home, Danica was still ready to take the next step toward a racing career.

Leaving High School Behind

With the real talent and promise that Danica was showing as a driver, she and her family made the decision to pull her out of high school and move to England. The changes were big, but Danica was dedicated to furthering her driving career in any way possible.

She had to adjust to a new country, new rules, and new vehicles – we shouldn't have to tell you that there are big differences between go-karts and actual cars. The braking system in particular is much different and takes a lot of adjustment. In the late nineties, the Patricks made their way across the pond and got to work.

Becoming Tougher

Moving always brings challenges, but Danica was up against a few more than the normal move, even an international one. The European race world at the time was full of guys who weren't interested in letting a young American girl into their club. It was no doubt tough for Danica to push through, but she's said the experience helped her develop a strong sense of self.

However, these weren't the only issues that plagued the young driver. Rumors cropped up of an extravagant lifestyle. Getting put into the spotlight helped Patrick find her first sponsor, but it didn't go away once that happened – she was a celebrity (though a small one) and nothing beats celebrity gossip.

Losing Her Sponsor

The rumors, founded or not, forced Mecom's hand, and Danica was dropped from the roster of drivers. Danica was still determined, however, and the rest of the family had her back. Though her financial backing was gone, Terry Patrick agreed to put up money to keep Danica racing.

This meant not only schooling, but material and equipment, and of course the biggest item: the car. No doubt Terry got used to writing big checks, and in the back of his mind, he knew it was a gamble for his girl. However, only two years later, that gamble paid off, and that was where Danica's career really hit the green light.

Second Place

Danica got her first big dose of attention by coming in second place in the Formula Ford Festival in 2000. This British competition had only Ford-powered, single-seat racing cars. Now, the second place might not seem like the best start, and Danica COULD have gotten first, but she still lost by only half a second. Not even.

It's also said that she had the best performance an American has ever shown in this European competition. And, remember, she was only eighteen at the time. On the podium, she had to stand below British racer Anthony Denis Davidson, himself a legend in racing, but we bet she was still smiling wide.

Put the Pedal Down

The Indy 500 is one of the most popular sporting events in the world and something that every driver aspires to join. Drivers have to put in hundreds of thousands of laps and prove that they're going to be the best before they get a chance. Female racers have it especially rough, with the race banning women until the seventies, and only a few females competing after that.

Danica got the shock of a lifetime, then, when the world-famous racer Bobby Rahal offered her an Indy contract in 2002. However, her season didn't exactly go perfectly, and she ended up not competing in the Indy 500.

A Second Chance

After a few more years of making the rounds, Danica had another chance with Rahal Letterman Racing (that's David Letterman's, btw). The year 2004 was her next big chance, and she wasn't about to let it go to waste. This time, her year was good enough that she was going to be able to join the Indy 500.

Danica had proved she didn't only have the skill to drive, but also the passion and patience that allowed her to keep going even when things got rough. Now she had a big chance at making her mark and bringing home some high-quality hardware.

Starting Rough

Unfortunately, Patrick's 2005 career year didn't start the way anybody had planned. In her very first Indy race, Patrick was part of a multi-car crash, when another driver lost control of his vehicle and went spinning across the track. Danica was right behind the spinning car and got clipped. The impact sent her straight up the wall.

She was aware of the dangers but probably didn't expect her first big race to land her in the hospital. Thankfully, her injuries amounted to a mild concussion. Her first race was a no-go, but the year was just beginning, and Patrick had plenty of time to make up for lost ground.

Staying Focused

Her first race ended with a crash, but it was only the first race. She would have loved to make it to the top ten on her first race, but she had plenty of other chances. Only a few races later she nearly won. She continued to keep her eye on the prize and managed to make history that same year.

Two months after her first race ended in a crash, Danica was going to be part of her first Indy 500 race. The number after the race is the number of miles. It's an incredible test of endurance and concentration, and only the best get a chance to compete.

Just Barely Missing the Podium

Out of the thirty-three drivers that competed that day, Danica Patrick ended up taking fourth. It was a huge accomplishment for the young driver. Not only that, but she was also the lead car for a full nineteen laps during the race.

While Danica had been racing for years, this was similar to a college football player making his start in the NFL – just on another level. Still, Danica proved she had the skills to hang with the big boys. Her performance included several firsts, such as the fastest overall practice speed for a woman, which earned her pole position at the next Indy race in Kansas.

Gaining Accolades

She was only the second woman in history to earn pole position at an Indy race, and the racing world took notice. Still technically a rookie in the league, she had plenty of eyes on her as she competed.

The series and the racing world took notice of her skills and named her the 2005 “Rookie of the Year.” Not a bad start at all, even with the crash. In addition, she was also named the Indy Racing League's “Most Popular Driver” for three years in a row. Practically overnight, she became a female athlete that everyone had to respect.

A Huge First

Danica was making a name for herself. She was ambitious, talented, and a darling to the media. She never stopped working hard to prove she was a champion, and the years continued rolling. Her driving improved, and she became a consistent big-league name.

In 2008, her hard work paid off in a huge way, when she won her very first race. She took home the trophy from Japan's Twin Ring Motegi Indy 300, becoming not only the first woman to win the race, but the first female driver to win any major-league open-wheel racing event.

Number One

By the time Danica was twenty-three, she was Rookie of the Year in a prestigious organization. At twenty-six she made sports history. What could be next? It was being ranked number one in AOL's “Annual List of Top Web, Mobile, and Video Searches.” She was the most-searched athlete, surpassing big names like golfer Tiger Woods and quarterback Tom Brady.

Her skill on the track was no doubt a huge factor in this, but another reason was the modeling contracts she was doing at the same time. Critics pointed out most of her fame came from spreads in “Sports Illustrated” or ad campaigns, but Danica didn't back down.

Doing Things Her Way

If you haven't been able to figure it out by now, Danica wasn't going to do things the way history usually saw them play out. She posed in a bikini for “Sports Illustrated,” winked at the camera in GoDaddy.com ads, and plenty more. She was feisty, she was saucy, and she wasn't going to listen to the haters.

Paradoxically, Patrick didn't like being called sexy, despite her obvious beauty. She thought it was the lowest form of compliment – here she was proving to the world a woman could win in the fast lane and she usually just heard that she was sexy.

Taking the World by Storm

Somehow, someway, this small-town midwest girl had taken the world by storm. She was on the cover of magazines, winning races against established pros, and doing it all in a way that made the entire globe sit up and take notice.

Not everything she did was universally accepted (case in point, the aforementioned steamy Godaddy.com ads) but there was no one who could dismiss her or say her star wasn't still on the rise. Beauty, fame, and talent were all hers. What was left? Enter someone by the name of Paul Edward Hospenthal.

A Racing Heart

As her racing career sped up and her fame increased, Patrick made a connection with Paul Edward Hospenthal, seventeen years her senior. The two first met while Danica was still working her way toward the Indy races. Hospenthal was a physical therapist for famous athletes, and then he met Danica when he was helping her out with a hip injury she had sustained from...yoga class.

Before too long the couple started seeing each other romantically, though Danica tried hard to keep the relationship out of the public eye. She was mostly successful, but celebrity relationships are like candy to the rag-writers at tabloids.

An Even Better Year Than We Thought

In 2005, the same year Danica won Rookie of the Year and Most Popular Driver, she also got engaged to Hospenthal after three years of dating. By then she had earned her status as a pop-culture icon and was making plenty of cash, something she wasn't all that accustomed to.

Paul, however, had built his physical therapy business from the ground up and had a keen financial mind. Patrick related that she will always be grateful for the lessons he taught her about managing money, saving for retirement, and taking care of one's self-worth. Paul, for his part, was keen on passing on his knowledge to his new wife.

Not Meant to Be

Sadly, it seemed this wasn't a relationship that was going to stand the test of time. After seven years of marriage, the pair split up. No one but those close to them can be sure of the exact reasons, but they seem to have separated amicably.

Seven years is past the first danger zone of a relationship (one to two years after marriage) but smack dab in the second period. In fact, years seven and eight of a marriage are the most common for couples to go their separate ways. Danica is anything but typical, but she and Paul fell prey to all-too-common relationship pitfalls.

Not Slowing Down

Patrick loves to take things quickly, so it wasn't long after her separation from Paul that she found a new relationship. This time it was with fellow driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. After all, she was one of the most eligible bachelorettes in the world, famous for her talent and beauty.

Stenhouse was a catch himself, having won a couple of his own Rookie of the Year awards, and was a back-to-back Nationwide Series champ (2011 and 2012). However, this relationship didn't get as far as before. The couple dated for five years and then Ricky ended it, stating he felt pressured to propose to Danica before he was ready.

A Year to Remember

2013 was one of those good years for Danica. Not only was she getting along with her new beau, but she also achieved record-breaking success in none other than the famous NASCAR Cup Series.

Just a few months after news of her breakup with husband Paul, she got the fastest qualifying time for the Daytona 500 race, and also made it into the top ten of that race. She made it into eighth, that being the highest spot a woman has ever attained in the race. The Daytona is called the “Great American Race,” and a lot of people suddenly saw a glass ceiling shattered for women in racing.

Not Just for Women

Women and girls around the world watched Danica's career with great interest. While Danica was happy she was encouraging women, she didn't necessarily feel like a spokesperson for the cause.

She was making headlines and breaking records, but as she told “The LA Times” in 2020, she didn't have a message for women. She had a message for people. She's always wanted to focus on inspiring everyone to push themselves toward achievements. Patrick might be credited with opening racing up to women, which we're sure she's happy about, but that wasn't her full goal.

You Can't Race Forever

Patrick believed people shouldn't be pigeonholed into being one-dimensional. In her case, she didn't want to be seen as just for women. To her, her strongest message was "do what you love and be yourself."

With this kind of down-to-earth thinking and the ambition that Danica had used all her life, many people thought she would continue racing much longer than she actually did. Yet it was in 2018, after only thirteen years in the big leagues, when Danica started to see she wasn't as dedicated to racing as she had once been. Injuries and age had taken their toll, and she knew she needed to move on.

Going out With a Bang

One wrong twitch while behind the wheel and you, your car, fellow drivers, and even audience members could be at risk. Danica felt she couldn't keep her skills sharp enough to continue. Her decision was also helped by losing one of her sponsors in 2018, and she made the decision that it would be her last year racing full-time.

However, she wanted to finish on a high note. She said that she didn't want to be remembered for petering out and fading away like so many other athletes do – she wanted to be remembered for winning and being a champion.

The Final Double

Over the years, the Daytona 500 and the Indy 500 had become known as the “Danica Double,” being her two favorite races of the season. When Danica announced her retirement, she said that she would still race in those two competitions, being celebratory send-offs for a one-of-a-kind legend in the racing world. However, things didn't exactly go as planned.

In both of the races, Danica was unable to finish. Instead, she ended up in crashes that took her out. She might not have gotten the ending she'd hoped for, but thankfully 2018 brought more than just driving to the table.

Fraternizing With the Enemy

Danica was born in Wisconsin but grew up in Illinois, and had been a Chicago Bears fan her whole life. Surprise surprise, then, when she started a relationship with Green Bay Packer quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The relationship came quickly on the heels of her breakup with Stenhouse, and the two began a high-profile romance in February of 2018, having known each other since 2012.

Though a Bears fan, she was more than happy to cheer on her fella as his team stomped hers repeatedly. Rodgers was at her side as she drove in the Danica Double to formalize her retirement.

Spending Some Time on the Red Carpet

As a bona fide celebrity, Danica had plenty of things to do during 2018. One of them was being chosen to host the ESPY awards, though she didn't exactly bring the house down. Her comedic timing was a little off, and she was sort of awkward on stage, but comments did point out she was stunning in her off-the-shoulder mini dress and open sandals.

This event not only marked her red carpet debut but that of Rodgers as well. While she won't be remembered as the best host ever, she still performed well enough. Even after all that tense time behind the wheel, she probably still got nervous on stage.

Done After Two Years

While Patrick and Rodgers had traveled the world and taken plenty of swoon-worthy Instagram pictures together, their relationship didn't make the cut. July 2020 saw a flurry of fan speculation when Danica unfollowed Rodgers on the picture-based social media platform. Rumors began to circulate, and the two soon broke up.

While both parties have been somewhat cryptic, Danica would later say that they simply grew apart. It's a fact of life – sometimes relationships end. Even relationships between two famous people. According to them, there was no specific reason. Danica revealed on her podcast that any guy she dates will have his work cut out for him.

Moving On

Both halves of this athletic power couple have moved on. Rodgers quickly started seeing “Big Little Lies” actress Shailene Woodley, and popped the question after just a few months of dating. Information tells us that it was a simple case of when you know, you know.

Danica might still be single, but she's focused on her business empire. She has a wine brand called Somnium and a mixed athletic and leisure clothing company she called Warrior. She's also been writing books, including her memoirs, and has a podcast series called "Pretty Intense". Those business lessons she got from Paul must have really paid off.

The Cameo and the Good Work

That's not all that Danica has been doing since hanging up her driving gloves. In 2019 she made a cameo appearance in “Charlie's Angels” as a driving instructor. She was happy to have a role that honored her history as a driver.

She's also become known for her philanthropy. Her causes are often in the vein of providing healthy food to people who might not have access to the proper nutrients. Anyone who follows her social media accounts knows she constantly pushes the importance of eating right, exercise, and staying healthy.

Her Small Stature

Nobody can deny that Danica is huge – unless you're talking physically. At a mere five-foot-two and usually only a hundred pounds, she's a tiny, tiny person. When you think about it, the lighter a driver is the better it is, since the car doesn't have to work as hard.

However, Patrick received plenty of negative comments from other racers, including Robby Gordon, saying her reduced weight compared to the bigger drivers was an unfair advantage. Gordon even went so far as to mention boycotting racing against her unless something was done to make it fairer.

Too Busy for Kids

For most of her life, Danica has been busy making sure she was already ready to win. While she was married to Paul Hospenthal for seven years, the couple never had kids. Since Patrick is so tiny, driving with a baby bump was something that just couldn't be considered, for both her health and the child's.

However, Danica has gone through the hormone treatments procedures to freeze her eggs, stating that she wanted to make sure she had options. Her focus on health and physical fitness has helped her greatly if she does choose to become a parent.

A Focus on Head Injuries

Over the years, new information about head injuries in sports has become apparent. NASCAR and other driving organizations, without a doubt, had to take note. Despite the hundreds of rules and guidelines that drivers follow in order to keep themselves safe, crashing into a wall at a hundred and fifty miles per hour results in damage.

Stats from ESPN have estimated that Patrick has had dozens of concussions over the years and that she's at serious risk if she's in another big crash. This risk was one of the reasons why Patrick decided it was time to take a step away from racing.

How Is She Rated?

We've called Danica a champion in this article, but she's never actually achieved the podium in any NASCAR events. She came in much-heralded, but never really lived up to the hype. Despite being one of racing's best-known drivers, she doesn't have the success as many of her fellow racers.

Still, her status as a role model for many young drivers has kept her in the spotlight. As time goes on, people might start to be more negative about Patrick's actual driving, even going so far as to be called overrated, but nobody will be able to deny the mark she made in pop culture.

Never Stop Growing

Even though she's retired from racing, Danica is still incredibly active physically. As an athlete (if not the traditional type) she's had a lifetime of focusing on her own health. Skiing and snowboarding are two activities that she seems to enjoy. She even posted some inspiring words about focusing on both strengths and weaknesses.

She focused on doing backbends during yoga because she wanted to improve the flexibility in her hips and thighs. When it comes to improving your weaknesses or strengths, experts are mixed. Some say improve strengths to make them overpower weaknesses, some say it increases weaknesses. We can guess which method Danica ascribes to.

Time with Bear Grylls

Even if you don't watch his shows, you probably know Bear Grylls as the ultimate outdoor man. Danica had the privilege of being on one of his shows in 2021. Grylls's shows are all about facing what you fear, and Danica also had to do so. She wrote on her Instagram account that she did everything that scares her the most and that growth is waiting on the other side of fear.

She recounted that in life. She's had to go through incredible highs and lows. She's had her heartbroken, been in the winner's circle, and everything in between.

Trying Love Out Again

Patrick is proof that age isn't a limit. At the age of thirty-nine, she found herself with a new romantic partner in life, this time with Carter Comstock, the co-founder of the meal prep kit business Freshly Meals.

The relationship went public in March of 2021, and the two seemed to be very happy as they made their announcements. Clearly, Danica isn't the kind of person to take things slow – it's also clear she hasn't given up on finding happiness with other people. It's inspiring to all of us not to give up too soon.

A Problem With Anger

A lot has gone right in Danica's life, but one thing that constantly hounds her is her problems with anger. It's been seen over and over that if she doesn't get her way she'll let people know she is upset. She'll stomp her feet, flip the bird, and cuss out who she believes to be at fault.

Danica herself has worked hard to change. She didn't really care how people thought of her, but there was always so much cleanup to be done, people to apologize to, and drama, that she found it easier just to bite her tongue.

A Marketing Mind

Endorsing everything from granola bars to dentists, Patrick has a mind for marketing. Although her GoDaddy.com ads have been pulled from television for being too racy. This kind of activity hasn't gone without criticism, but do any fellow drivers have a wheel to race on?

Their cars are revolving billboards with more sponsors than laps. It's extremely common for drivers to make money off branding. Sadly, it looks like many people unfairly targeted Danica.

Sponsor Lawsuits

Patrick and her racing team entered into a three-year contract with Nature's Bakery in 2015, turning them into the main sponsor of the driver. Only one year into the sponsorship, however, Nature's Bakery pulled out, stating Patrick had endorsed a rival product.

A lawsuit rose, since the agreement never said Patrick couldn't appear with rival products. Additionally, the other product was a protein powder – not exactly a rival. Patrick's team had the upper hand, and Nature's Bakery eventually settled with her and her team to the tune of thirty-one million dollars, the remainder of their contract. Nothing better than getting what you're worth.

A Series Ironwoman

There is another Indy record that Danica holds. She has the record for most consecutive races with a staggering fifty at the end of her seven-year Indy career. The next most and former record holder was Scott Dixon, a series champ, whose consecutive races amounted to a mere twenty-four.

Dixon has the chance to take his record back, however, as his career is still moving. Another record she holds is a record ten super bowl commercials, though with all the celeb cameos we see each year, we wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't have this one for long.

A Sponsor Herself

Danica had oodles of sponsors big and small during her time as a racer, but she did a little bit of her own sponsoring. It wasn't a fellow racer, of course – she sponsored her niece's under-10 girl's softball team in Phoenix. They called themselves the Green Machines and wore uniform pieces to mimic Patrick's colors.

When she has the chance, she visits their practices or games, frequently slowing the diamond action down with her celebrity status. She tries to keep a low profile but has also stated that it's just softball practice. If the girls want to come over and meet her there are worse things in the world.

Favorite Numbers

Danica Patrick has two numbers that she usually chooses for her cars if she has the choice. The first is four, her favorite number. Even if she can't get the single-digit number, she tries to get a number that at least has four in it.

When she can't get any of those, she's sprung for ten, such as her Stewart Haas Racing Spring Cup car. Part of her reasoning for choosing that number was it was the age she started racing go-karts. It's not fully known why she likes the number four, but that doesn't matter much. It's a pretty good number. Not top three, though.

Doing a Good Deed

Just like any of us, Danica Patrick has plenty of likes and dislikes. The most interesting of these is probably that she has a visceral dislike of popsicles. Despite this, Patrick did something wonderful in 2020. When an eighteen-year-old Green Bay Packer fan, Callie Kessler, had her tonsils removed, her parents took a tearful anesthesia-fueled video of Kessler asking Aaron Rodgers (Patrick's bf at the time) for four hundred popsicles.

Patrick and Rodgers together arranged for Kessler to receive the popsicles (actually four hundred Otter Pops). Kessler also professed her love for Aaron Rodgers, which didn't get the same kind of response, but at least she has her popsicles.

Keep reading about great professional racecar drivers and the talented woman Standing Next to Them

It’s commonly known that professional racecar drivers, like many athletes, attract beautiful women. These NASCAR wives and girlfriends, AKA WAGS, are gorgeous and talented and, in many cases, do a bit of driving themselves.

Whether they're still together or have parted ways, these couples will forever be remembered in NASCAR history. Here are some of the women who help keep these racers on track.

Johanna Robbins

Johanna Robbins, AKA Johanna Long, as she went during her single days, is a Snowball Derby champion who started racing at the age of eight, when her father used to take her to the track to race karts. Since she was five, she’d been going with him, but he didn’t let her get behind the wheel until she was a bit older.

In 2009, she was racing in NASCAR, where she had 27 top-ten finishes in 38 events. In 2016, she and fellow driver/Kyle Busch Motorsports engineer Hunter Robbins said their “I dos.”

Robin McCall

Robin McCall was the second woman to compete in NASCAR’s Winston Cup Series in the early ’80s and the youngest in history to qualify for an event. In 1985, she married fellow driver Wally Dallenbach Jr., with whom she has three kids.

After having kids, McCall transitioned out of racing slowly but surely. These days, she works as a driving instructor at events for auto manufacturers and moonlights in precision/stunt driving for commercials and films.

Katie Kenseth

Driver Matt Kenseth first met his wife, farm girl Katie, in the late 1990s when she was working at motel cleaning rooms and working at the little store next door. Of course, she was just a teenager at the time, so they went their separate ways.

But when the two ran into each other at a wedding when they were a bit older, things were different. They hit it off and had their own wedding in 2000. They have a daughter together, Kaylin, and raise Matt’s older son, Ross, who he had from a previous relationship.

Connie Montoya

Connie Montoya is the beautiful wife of NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya. Juan has been called one of the few people to have made the successful crossover between IndyCar and NASCAR.

These two also have three children together, along with some four-legged, furry family members. Juan Pablo competes in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship still today, which he won in 2019.

Lorra Podsiadlo Bowyer

Clint and Lorra Bowyer’s relationship moved along about as quickly as his cars around the track as they were walking down the aisle just a couple of months after he proposed in 2014! Then, a few weeks after tying the knot, they shared with the world that they were expecting their first child.

Now, the two have a daughter, three-year-old Presley, and a son, five-year-old Cash. Lorra is a talented lacrosse player and even made the top 10 in leading scorers at her alma mater, Nazareth College.

Deborah Renshaw

Deborah Renshaw has been around the NASCAR circuit since her first Dodge Weekly Series in 2001. The year after, she became the first woman to lead a sanctioned series at the Nashville Speedway.

In 2006, she married her husband, NASCAR crew chief Shawn Parker, with whom she has two children.

Lynne Kush

Lynne Allmendinger may have been the wife of driver A. J. Allmendinger AKA “NASCAR’s Dinger,” but she’s also got some of her own athletic credits to her name. Lynne is a former world-class gymnast and baton twirler.

She also has a background in public relations and is a skilled chiropractor. The pair met when she was working PR with Champ Car and tied the knot back in 2007 but divorced in 2012.

Brittany Baca

NASCAR Cup champion Joey Logano first announced his engagement to Brittany Baca back in 2013. Before the pair met, Brittany studied fashion and psychology at UNC in Charlotte. Then, as if the two were destined to come together, they locked eyes when they were both working at a local ice rink owned by Joey’s sister, Danielle.

Apparently, Brittany was the first girl he ever kissed, and the two just fell deeper until they walked down the aisle in 2014. Brittany and Joey have one child together and are very active in the Joey Logano foundation for crisis intervention.

Niki Taylor

In early 2020, supermodel Niki Taylor walked down the aisle to marry NASCAR driver Burney Lamar. The wedding took place in a hotel in San Diego and was officiated by the pastor of the church they attended together.

They met at a charity event the previous January, at which point Taylor reportedly said to herself, “this is the guy I’m going to marry.” The model has two children from her first marriage to football player Matt Martinez.

Ashley Judd

You probably know actress Ashley Judd from her work on major films like "Double Jeopardy," "Kiss the Girls," and the "Divergent" series.

In 1999, she and NASCAR (and IndyCar) driver, Dario Franchitti, got engaged, and two years later, they tied the knot in a beautiful ceremony at Skibo Castle in Scotland, where Franchitti is originally from. But after 11 years of wedded bliss, they announced their split and got divorced in 2013.

Ashley Van Metre

Ashley Van Metre and her husband, Kurt Busch, were first introduced by a few family members in 2014. Less than a year later, Busch asked her to marry him, and she said yes! The two tied the knot in a small but beautiful seaside ceremony at Ashley’s family farm in Virginia in 2017.

Before he popped the question, he’d even asked her father if it was alright that he asked for his daughter’s hand in marriage – and you can guess how that went! The big day was magical, especially for Ashley, who got to share it with 40 close friends and family members, including her favorite childhood pals – her horses.

Kate Downey-Edwards

Kate Downey Edwards, the wife of Carl Edwards, is from the same hometown as her hubby – Columbia, Missouri, where she attended college and earned herself a medical degree. After graduation, she went into a residency program and now works in a physical rehabilitation facility to help patients recover from traumatic and severe brain injuries.

The couple started dating back in 2006 and tied the knot in 2009. They had a daughter, Annie, who was born the year after their marriage. The family moved back to Columbia, where they live in a suburban neighborhood.

Jenni Dahlman

This Finnish model began her career at the age of 14. She competed in several high-profile contests, making the top ten in Miss Model of the Year 1999. The following year, she was a runner-up in the Miss Finland pageant, but it wasn’t until 2001 that she took home her Miss Scandinavia title.

A few years later, she married Formula One racer Kimi Räikkönen. They were together until 2013, and she is now rumored to be in a relationship with a former ice hockey player.

Kaylie Green

Kaylie Green was the longtime girlfriend of NASCAR driver 24-year-old Chase Elliot. But Green was no stranger to the world of racing before they met. In fact, when the two first saw each other, it was when Green was working as a pole-sitter at the Daytona 500.

The couple was together for years until recently, when they allegedly broke things off. Chase later posted a video of him making out with a random blonde woman, perhaps in an attempt to make his ex jealous.

Arlene Hiss

Arlene Hiss was the first woman in history to start an Indy car race, which she did back in 1976. Her ex-husband, Mike Hiss, was titled the 1972 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year.

Aside from racing, Hiss taught dance at a high school in California. She and Mike are no longer married, and she retired from driving in the late ‘70s.

Whitney Scott

Whitney Scott married her husband, Brian, in 2014, during the offseason at Shore Lodge in Idaho, which Scott’s family owns. Whitney already had a daughter, Brielle, from her previous relationship, which happened to be with another racecar driver, Sean Caisse.

In 2015, they welcomed a son, as well. In early 2020, Whitney took home the title of Mrs. Idaho World 2020, which she jokingly referred to as being a “quarantine queen,” on her Facebook page. Next stop: the Mrs. America pageant.

Amy Reimann

In 2009, Amy Reimann worked at an architectural firm when she was hired to make some changes to Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s house in Mooresville, North Carolina. After they met for the first time, they hit it off and ended up dating for six years before they got engaged in 2015. It wasn’t until a couple of years later that they got married.

The couple welcomed their second child, and the retired NASCAR driver and his wife even had their own reality show that came out on DIY Network, which follows their lives as Amy completes a renovation project on a home in Key West.

Janice Almirola

Janice Almirola first met NASCAR driver Aric in 2005, when he was driving, and her father was a pit crew chief and thought they’d make a perfect patch.

He introduced them at one event, and by 2009, they were engaged to be married. They have a son, Alex, and a daughter named Abby.

Sherry Pollex

Martin Truex Jr. has been racing as a part of the NASCAR world for more than ten years. His girlfriend, Sherry Pollex, has stood by his side for the past five of them, and they have been through a lot together.

In the 2010s, she was in a fight for her life against stage 3 ovarian cancer, and Martin was right there with her holding her hand through it all.

Cortney Sauter

NASCAR driver Johnny Sauter is a lucky man to be married to his wife, Cortney. The two got together in 2004 after meeting at a motorsport charity banquet. They started dating the following year and were together for quite some time before he popped the question years later.

Cortney was crowned as Miss Wisconsin USA in 2001 and has appeared on the TBS reality series "Outback Jack." When she met Johnny, she put her PR degree to good use, working as a publicist for Team Yellow Racing.

Emilia Pikkarainen

This Finnish professional swimmer holds the record in the 50-meter butterfly event in her country. When she was just 15 years old, she was already competing in the Olympics, where she swam the 100- and 200-meter butterfly.

In 2010, she started dating Formula One racecar driver Valtteri Bottas, who she married six years later. But in 2019, the couple announced they were getting divorced.

Chandra Janway Johnson

Chandra and Jimmie Johnson have been married for over 16 years. They met in 2002, and a year later, Jimmie proposed to his wife while they were on a snowboarding trip in Colorado. Then, the year after the proposal, they got married on a Caribbean island.

Janway is an ex-Wilhelmina model, though aside from that, there isn’t a lot of information out there about her. The couple likes to keep their personal life to themselves, though we do know that they have two young daughters together, who like to show up with mom to support their dad at his races.

Xuxa

Xuxa is a former (famous) TV personality from Brazil. When she first met driver Ayrton Senna around Christmas in 1988, they fell pretty hard for each other.

They had a passionate romance, though he was rumored to be in several other relationships at the time. Still, they remained good friends until his death, and she attended his funeral in Sao Paulo in 1994.

Patty Moise

Patty Moise has been a part of the racing world since she drove in the IMSA series when she was just 16 years old. In 1986, she debuted in the Busch series, where she became the first woman in history to lead an event.

A few years later, she married fellow racecar driver Elton Sawyer. The two ended up driving on the same team for a short period of time, where they got used to hearing jokes like their marriage was “made in the pits.”

DeLana Harvick

DeLana Harvick was no stranger to the world of racing when she first met her hubby, driver Keven Harvick, back in 2000 at the Michigan International Speedway. At the time, she was working as a PR specialist for another driver and even raced herself from time to time.

By the following year, they were married, and they now have a son, daughter, and furry family members. Their daughter Piper has gotten into racing go-karts and seems to be following in the footsteps of mom and dad!

Christy McMurray

Christy McMurray is wife to former cup-series record-setter and Fox NASCAR analyst James Christopher McMurray, AKA Jamie Mac. “Mac” is one of just three drivers to win the Brickyard 400 and the Daytona 500 in the same year.

When these two met, Christy was still going by her maiden name, “Futrell.” They got married in 2009, and they have two children together.

Katelyn Sweet

In 2018, Kyle Larson married his longtime girlfriend, Katelyn Sweet. The newly suspended NASCAR driver has been utilizing the extra time on his hands to spend it with his wife and their two children. Interestingly enough, Sweet was already pregnant with their second kid when they announced their engagement in 2017.

Sweet has raced worldwide, as her brother, Brad, is also a former driver for NASCAR. When she isn’t busy playing the role of mom, she competes in horseback riding and jumping competitions as a skilled equestrian.

Nicole Scherzinger

Former Pussycat Dolls frontwoman and X-Factor judge Nicole Scherzinger may not be a WAG of a racecar driver anymore.

Still, she spent seven years with Formula One star Lewis Hamilton. The pair were even engaged at one point but split before they tied the knot.

Jordan Fish

Denny Hamlin and Jordan Fisher have been married for over three years now. The couple seems to always be on the road with their two daughters, Molly and Taylor. Though they have only been married for three years, Jordan and Hamlin dated for a long time before deciding to make things official.

When they met, she was in the middle of one of her performances as a dancer for the Charlotte Bobcats. They locked eyes, and things took off from there! Hamlin sponsored Fish as she entered the Miss South Carolina pageant. After the competition, she took him out to dinner to say “thank you,” and things evolved.

Danica Patrick

You may be surprised to see racecar driver Danica Patrick’s name on our list, but then again, maybe not! After all, when you’ve been immersed in racing since the age of ten, it only makes sense you end up dating other drivers – which was exactly what happened when she started up a relationship with Nationwide Series champion Ricky Steinhouse.

In 2017, the couple parted ways, after which she went on to date NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, though things didn’t last. Patrick is now a retired driver and an accomplished entrepreneur and author.

Beccy Hunter-Reay

Beccy Hunter-Reay (AKA Beccy Gordon) has been with her husband, Ryan, since long before being a famous driver. She had a promising modeling career and did some swimsuit modeling for Roxy and Quicksilver, along with playing professional softball.

She was even the youngest member (still) on the U. S’s women’s national team! These two tied the knot in 2011, are happily married, and have three children.

Amanda Carter

Amanda Carter, the girlfriend of Bubba Wallace, has been a major force of good in the driver’s life and has been there supporting his efforts through the good and bad throughout the past ten years. They first met back in 2010 and have been together throughout the better part of the decade. However, they aren’t married and have had a few rough patches over the years.

Always posting pictures doing coupley things and enjoying each other's company on social media. Amanda recently captioned one such post as she sat on the back of a motorcycle he was driving, “Always pushing me outside of my comfort zone, that’s what I love. #Sorrymom.”

Paige White

Paige White has been Paige Keselowski for several years since she married her longtime boyfriend and driver, Brad Keselowski, in 2017. Paige attended East Carolina University, where she graduated with a BA in Psychology. The couple had a daughter, Scarlett, born in 2015.

Before Paige gave birth, the couple endured a big scare when doctors told the couple that the baby might not make it, as she was having trouble breathing due to complications. Luckily, emergency surgery saved her life, and Scarlett is now a happy and healthy five-year-old!

Whitney Dillon

Whitney Dillon was known as Whitney Ward until August 2016, when she married her husband, driver Austin Dillon. She was the captain of the cheerleading team during her time at the University of Chattanooga in TN. After school, she went on to become an NFL cheerleader for four years. Whitney has also done a lot of different modeling, including ads for the Monster Energy energy drink.

Last year, Whitney starred in the CMT reality TV series "Racing Wives, "alongside many other names on our list. They welcomed their first child earlier this year and stay busy being a mom and running her jewelry business.

Eva Bryan

Eva Bryan was married to a long-time racecar driver, Kurt Busch, for five years, from 2006-2011. They apparently met and started dating in July of 2003, until they decided to make things official.

Kurt, the older brother to, Kyle, was set up on a blind date with Eva by a mutual friend. She had no idea he was a racer and was actually told he was a veterinarian. Talk about a sudden plot twist!

Corinna Schumacher

Corinna Schumacher is married to seven-time champion Formula One racer Michael Schumacher. She is also an avid animal rights activist and equestrian—the two own horse ranches both in Switzerland and Texas.

The couple walked down the aisle in 1995 in Germany, where Michael is from. In 1997, she gave birth to the couple's daughter, Gina-Maria, who is an amateur horse rider. In 1999, she had Mick, who followed his father and now competes in formula racing.

Trisha Mears

Have you started to notice a theme among these NASCAR wives and girlfriends? Perhaps the fact that they’re all stunning and stylish? Casey Mears’ wife, Trisha, fits right in among the rest of them and has been compared to looking like award-winning actress Charlize Theron.

The couple dated for several years before tying the knot and have been together for more than a decade now. Casey and Trisha live in Phoenix, where they originally met, with their two children, Samantha and Hayden.

Krissie Newman

Earlier this year, NASCAR racer Ryan Newman went through an awful wreck on the track, and that wasn’t the only thing that would derail his life. Krissie and Ryan were married for a whopping 16 years until they announced that they would officially be splitting up a few months ago.

The two had met back in 2001, thanks to a mutual friend from church who set them up. They've been supporting each other ever since!

Kristen Yeley

Kristen Yeley is the wife of J.J. Yeley and dabbles in racing herself. In fact, for the past several years, she’s been participating in the Better Half Dash race for charity – a race that she won back in 2014.

Kristen has been around the sport for her entire life, as her parents raced in NASCAR themselves. The two live in Charlotte, North Carolina, with their daughter, and according to LinkedIn, Kristen is listed as a “full-time mom.”

Raquel del Rosario

When Raquel del Rosario was just 14 years old, she was already a talented songwriter. A few years later, she joined a Celtic-based music group. Later, she would go on to become the lead vocalist for a Spanish band called El Sueño de Morfeo – which translates to “Morpheus’ Dream.”

She married Formula One driver Fernando Alonso in 2006, and the two moved to Lugano, Switzerland, soon after. They got divorced five years later, and she is now remarried to Galician filmmaker Pedro Castro, with whom she has two sons.

Ingrid Vandebosch-Gordon

Belgian model Ingrid Vandebosch won the Elite Look of the Year award in 1990 before she married racecar driver Jeff Gordon in 2006. She worked on several major international campaigns and appeared in magazines like "Vogue," "Elle," and "Marie Claire." In 2010, the couple welcomed their second child.

They own several homes, including one in Charlotte, North Carolina, one in New York City, and property in Colorado. These days, the majority of driving Jeff does is when he’s dropping his kids and their friends at, or home from, school!

Kim Burton

Kim Burton has been married to driver Jeff Burton for around three decades. They have a teenage daughter named Paige, and a son, Harrison, who’s interested in following in the family's footsteps of racing!

When asked how to maintain such a long-lasting marriage, she said, “My best advice for happiness would be to compromise, but you really have to have a genuine love for someone starting.”

Samantha Busch

Kyle Busch has been married to his wife Samantha now for over a decade. The two tied the knot in a fabulous (and very public) NASCAR-themed wedding broadcast on television. Busch earned himself the nickname, The Candy Man, due to his major sponsor being Mars, Incorporated. When these two got married, they already knew that they wanted to have children in their lives in the future.

But things didn’t go as smoothly as planned, and they decided to share their infertility struggles with the world. They went through the process of IVF to conceive their now four-year-old son, Brexton, and have considered surrogacy to have a second.

Christina Surer

This Swiss race car driver has been getting behind the wheel professionally since driving in the Ford Superseries in 2002. Aside from racing, she’s also done some TV hosting and modeling and even posed for men’s magazines.

She met and married Formula One driver Marc Surer in the late ‘90s, though they called it quits in 2000. Twelve years later, she got engaged to another racecar driver, Martin Tomczyk.

Tara Meador

A few months after A.J. Allmendinger’s 2012 split from ex-wife Lynne Kush, he met architectural designer Tara Meador at the Indy 500.

They hit it off, and they have been going strong ever since. In fact, there are rumors that the long-time pair will be walking down the aisle soon.

Nicki Minaj

In 2019, rapper Nicki Minaj walked down the aisle with Kenneth Petty, who goes all the way back to her childhood. But before those two were together, she was spotted vacationing in Dubai with driver Lewis Hamilton.

They were also seen together several times at multiple events. Although neither of the two ever announced it officially, it was widely regarded that there was something more than just friendship going on between them.

Crystal Hornish

Crystal Hornish is married to the retired driver, Sam Hornish, Jr. The two have three kids together; two daughters named Eliza and Addison and a son named Sam III.

Eliza was born in 2010, which was called the “year of the baby” in NASCAR since various WAGs gave birth during that time.

Priscila Perales

Priscila Perales is a former beauty queen and model from Mexico. In 2006, she made the top ten in the Miss Universe pageant. Then, the year afterward, she won the title of Miss International, making her the first Mexican to do so.

Perales retired from modeling in 2014, and four years later, she married racecar driver Adrian Fernandez.

Adriana Henao

During the end of the Indy 500 in 2014, ESPN and ABC created a mini-controversy when they utilized split-screen tech to show not the nail-biting race but Brazilian racer Helio Castroneves' lady Adriana Henao.

Maybe they knew Castroneves was going to lose. We can't blame the producers for wanting to get her on-screen, but maybe they should have waited until the race was over. Castroneves and Henao have been together for some time, and they also share a daughter. She's a looker, that's for sure, but is she really split-screen worthy? Castroneves thinks so, but most racing fans would rather see the cars.

Anna de Ferran

Anna has been a part of the racing biz ever since her father, Gil de Ferran, a French-born Brazilian driver, started winning in the nineties.

Anna was spotted hanging out with young driving phenom Sage Karam at the Cab Day Pit Stop competition, and while their relationship didn't go the distance, they still topped the lists of racing's most attractive couples.

Patricia Driscoll

Kurt Busch may have ended up marrying Ashley Van Metre in the end, but she wasn't the only dime-piece that he had by his side during his time as a single man. Another was Patricia Driscoll, a gorgeous blonde who had a young son that got along well with Busch, despite the eventual end of the relationship.

While they were still wondering if things would work out, Driscoll was the Executive Director of the Armed Forces Foundation.

Morgan Bell

Christopher Bell got his start in racing when a family friend introduced him to the sport as a teenager, and he's still racing and doing well. He's married to Morgan Bell (nee Kemenah) and has been since February of 2020.

They were engaged in December of 2018 after spending four and a half years together.

Jennifer Jo Cobb

This next couple met when one of them was a full-time racer, and the other was a crew chief, but it was Jennifer who was behind the wheel. They met in 2012 when Eddie Troconis was chief for Cobb's Xfinity Series team, and three years later, they got married.

Cobb has her own racing team (“Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing”) and is still racing in a number of different series, while her husband is still a crew chief for AM Racing's No. 22 truck in the Truck Series.

Jami McDowell

Michael McDowell is in the spotlight of the NASCAR world, right? This is thanks to his impressive wins as well as his streak of top finishes. McDowell is also winning as a family man alongside his wife, Jami McDowell.

They married all the way back in 2004 and have since added four children to their team: Trace, Emma, Rylie, and Lucas. Jami has had her husband's back ever since he started racing with NASCAR in 2007 and will be there by his side no matter what.

Taylor DiBenedetto

In 2015, Taylor married Matt DiBenedetto, and she immediately got to work helping him keep his sanity. He's been up-front about the stresses of the racing season, but he's also been clear that Taylor has been his rock when it comes to the rough patches of his career. He may put on a strong front, but it all comes from her.

If their Instagram posts show us anything, it's that they truly love each other. We all need someone strong by our side, and Taylor is filling that role for Matt.

Haley Dillon

Ty Dillon's brother Austin might have more NASCAR wins, but neither one of them has the edge when it comes to the ladies at their sides. Ty has still won four races in a little over two hundred, and he also has a beautiful wife named Haley.

The pair married in 2014, and Haley gave birth to their first child, daughter Oakley, in November of 2017, and then their son Kapton came in October of 2020. The pair had struggled with infertility after they had Oakley, so the addition of Kapton was a blessing. They refer to him as their “rainbow baby.”

Katie Cassill

NASCAR drivers have surprisingly busy schedules, what with the immense number of races they have to go through – as well as training, endorsement deals, and everything else.

Despite all this, Katie Cassill jumped right in when racer Landon Cassill asked her if she was willing to go through life with him. The two got married in December 2012, and then they welcomed their first child in 2015. They named their son Beckham. In 2017 they had a daughter named Daphne.

Amanda Sadler

Elliot Sadler is one of only thirty-six NASCAR drivers to have a win in each of NASCAR's top three races. His wife, Amanda Sadler, joined the team in 2009, and they now have a couple of kids to increase their ranks.

They gave birth to a son named Wyatt in 2010 and a daughter named Austin in 2012. Not only is Amanda a wife and mother, but she's also a teacher. While Elliot might not need a lot of help being a famous driver, he still needs someone to keep him grounded, and a teacher-wife is the perfect person to do that.

Sylvia Suarez

For a long time, rumors flew that Mexican driver Daniel Suarez was married to fellow Mexican Sylvia, but this was never officially confirmed. They were, at the very least, involved, as your grandmother might say, but however far the relationship went, it has now ended.

While the two were together, she was, at the very least, a supportive partner for Daniel, showing up in numerous photos with him and celebrating with him after he won several of his races. Yes, we realize that her name might not actually be Suarez, but we aren't even sure if they were married, so we have to give ourselves a little bit of wiggle room.

Ashley Allgaier

With an astounding fifteen wins in only seventy-seven races, Justin “Little Gator” Allgaier is the racer to watch if you're into NASCAR. His wife Ashley has been there since the start of his racing career, and the two got married in 2006. With the love of his life cheering him on from the stands, it's no wonder he goes for the win every time he's behind the wheel.

Their family has grown since 2006, with the addition of their daughter Harper in 2013. In 2020, the family announced that 2021 would see the arrival of another little gator. Willow was born in May of 2021, and the family, according to Ashley, is now complete.

Jacquelyn Ragan

David Ragan is an extremely family-oriented person, so it should come as no surprise that he has a solid relationship with his wife, Jacquelyn. The two married in 2012 and added a pair of daughters, Julia, born in 2014, and Meredith, born in 2016. Jacquelyn and David maintain close relationships with David's parents and his older brother Adam.

David comes from a racing family – his father, Kent, was a NASCAR driver until an accident forced him away from the track. David boasts over five hundred professional races and has plenty of big wins.

Emma Buescher

As a lover of four-wheelers, fishing, and outdoor fun, Emma decided that champion driver Chris Buescher couldn't be a better pick for a husband, and the two got married in 2018. Despite his skill behind the wheel, Chris was nervous during the wedding's first dance.

In an interview, he said he couldn't dance or even sway from side to side. He ended up going with a dance coach, and while they didn't do a dance for ages, Chris at least looked like he knew what he was doing.

Heather DesRochers

We shouldn't be surprised that racer drivers end up coming together in matrimony. Such was the case with Heather DesRochers and Ryan Preece. Heather met her future husband at the Stafford Motor Speedway in 2009 and even got to race against him in 2011 at the SK Modified Series tournament.

Preece ended up winning the tourney, DesRochers won Rookie of the Year, and they both went home with something even more valuable: a love that could end up lasting a lifetime. The two got married in 2107. You are now allowed to “awww.”

Marissa Briscoe

Marissa and Chase Briscoe got married in 2019, but things haven't been a fairy tale for them since then. With Chase as a driver in several events under the NASCAR name, he wants to win, but becoming a father has proved to be a challenge.

Marissa and Chase have been transparent on social media, declaring they have problems with infertility. However, in March 2021, the pair were finally able to announce Marissa's pregnancy.

Kelly Cassidy

Every once in a while, there are real fairy tales when it comes to love. Third-generation driver Corey LaJoie was following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series competitor.

He was driving at the Pocono Raceway when he met Kelly Cassidy, who had made an impromptu trip to the raceway with a few friends. LaJoie won the race, and the two had a chance to meet. Thanks to the internet, the two were able to reunite and soon fell in love, despite the travel time between New York and North Carolina. Now together, they have a son named Levi.

Elizabeth Hill

From his start at eight years old, driving go-karts, to sitting behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Camaro in the NASCAR Cup Series, Quin Houff has been destined for the track.

Since their wedding in 2019 in Mount Sidney, Virginia, he's had his wife, Elizabeth Hill cheering him on at each and every race. Ever since the wedding, Houff has referred to Elizabeth as “My better Huoff,” which is just the kind of thing that we want to see out of a relationship. Liz loves horses, dogs, and, of course, cheering on her husband while he's driving.

Elyshia Rennison

It's never too late to find your soul mate, as Elyshia Rennison and Derrick Cope can tell you. Cope's first wife was Renee White, but it seems the second time's the charm. Rennison is the Marketing Director of StarCom Racing and most likely met Derrick in that official capacity since Derrick is the team manager of StarCom.

Cope is used to finding himself in the victory circle – he won the 1990 Daytona 500 race and still finds himself racing now as a part-time NASCAR driver. There's no doubt he was going to keep trying for his chance at lasting love.

Taylor Stier

As a full-time driver with NASCAR, John Hunter Nemechek doesn't like to take things slow. When he met Taylor Stier, a fitness and fashion influencer on Instagram and LikeToKnow.com, he knew there wasn't any time to waste.

The two got married in October 2020 at Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards in North Garden, Virginia, and the couple is now based in Charlotte, North Carolina. When she isn't supporting her husband on the track, Taylor is taking care of their daughter, Aspen Palmer, who was born in March 2021.

Tatum Gaughan

Tatum Gaughan has been on a team with her racing husband, Brendan since they got married in August of 2007. Gaughan has raced in everything from off-road and pickup-track races to pavement stock car races in the late nineties.

He was a part-time driver from 2017 until 2020, and Tatum has been there the entire way until his final retirement. They had their first son in 2010 and then their second two years later.

Laura Frame

Laura Frame and Bradley “Reed” Sorenson got married in April of 2013; they have a pair of children: Eli, born in November of 2018, and Ella, born earlier. Sorenson and Frame have been together for some time, ever since Sorenson started racing with NASCAR in 2004 as part of the Busch Series and went on to win four times.

He also took home the 2003 ASA National Tour Rookie of the Year. He's been a part-time racer and a spotter ever since and is now happy as a family man with Laura by his side.

Caitlin Himmelsbach

While Joey Gase might not be the most impressive driver on this list, he still has something pretty special on his resume: he's the youngest driver to ever win the Hawkeye Downs Speedway late model championship. It took place in 2009, and he was only sixteen. Caitlin Himmelsbach married him in December of 2018 after announcing their engagement in February 2017.

They welcomed twins Jace and Carson in December 2019. The babies were born at a little under five pounds each. Gase might not have ended up in the winner's circle as a driver, but he's succeeded in his family life.

Jessica McLeod

B.J. McLeod isn't just a NASCAR driver. He also co-owns the B.J. McLeod Motorsports and Live Fast Motorsports racing teams. He's now a part-time NASCAR Cup, Xfinity, and Camping World Truck Series driver, and he's also a husband.

His wife, Jessica, is a fitness influencer, model, and coach. According to her Twitter bio, she is an “NPC National Qualified Figure Competitor.” She works alongside her husband as another co-owner of the B.J. McLeod Motorsports competitive team.

Kendall McReynolds

Jordan Anderson and his fiancee Kendall McReynolds aren't married yet, but they have a wedding date set for April 16th, 2022, in Georgia. The couple announced their engagement in January of 2021, with Jordan making a happy announcement on Twitter.

The amazing woman he mentions is the daughter of two-time Daytona 500-winning crew chief and analyst Larry McReynolds, so it's a match made in NASCAR heaven. Anderson has his own team, Jordan Anderson Racing, and races full-time in NASCAR Xfinity and part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Brandi Nicole Newcomb

As the son of driver Ward Burton, nephew of Jeff Burton, and cousin of Harrison Burton, Jeb Burton has a lot of legacy behind him. He races in all three of NASCAR's national series but is best known for his Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series races. He married his longtime girlfriend Brandi Nicole Newcomb on January 11th, 2020 after getting engaged in 2018.

Brandi and Jeb are both lovers of the natural world and spend their free time hiking, hunting, and exploring. They say opposites attract, but sometimes people who get together are pretty close to identical.

Hayley Burnash

These two are really just still kids when you think about it, but they're still working their way toward marriage. Hayley Burnash is the girlfriend of driver Erik Jones (2015 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champ and full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver) or, at least, was.

The two had been seen together in their social media posts, and Hayley had been living with Erik while she was working at a vet clinic. However, the relationship didn't make the distance – Erik is now seeing dirt track racer Holly Shelton.

Kenzie Ruston

Kenzie Ruston didn't just marry a NASCAR driver – she is one! She last competed in the 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and started her career in the 2011 ARCA Racing series.

Her biggest accomplishment was during the 2014 Iowa Speedway race, where she took second. She's married to Daniel Hemric, a full-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series racer. The two racers got engaged on July 28th, 2015, and got married two years later in Jamaica. They have two children together, Rhen and Millie.

Stacy Marlar

Mike Marlar has sacrificed a lot to compete and win. He's done dirt racing tournaments, the three main NASCAR series, and he even won the 2018 World of Outlaws Late Model Series and the 2020 Butterball Memorial. But he knows his wife has sacrificed more.

When they got married more than ten years ago, she was a civil engineer. Since then, she's switched to being a teacher in order to have more time for travel. The pair also has multiple children.

Sarah Wood

Long before he had the good fortune of meeting Sarah Wood, Shane Golobic was an experienced driver. Even prior to his NASCAR career, he won multiple track championships, including the 2014 California Spring Car Civil War Series. Sarah entered the picture at about the same time, and the two got married in October 2018 in California.

Shane took a break from his racing to have a fun honeymoon in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. The pair has a daughter and a young baby boy.

Cora Schumacher

It can’t have been easy to have been married to a brother who did not get as much of the limelight, but it suited Cora Schumacher perfectly. In 2001, Cora married Formula One driver Ralf Schumacher. The couple had a son together called David Schumacher.

Cora is multi-talented. She is an actress, model, and presenter, and like her former husband, was a car-racing driver. In 2004, she left the sport to take care of former hubby Ralf to look after him after he had a serious accident. Sadly, after 14 years of marriage, the two divorced in 2015.

Vivian Sibold

In 2014, Formula One driver Nico Rosberg married interior designer Vivian Sibold in Monaco. The next year, the designer fell pregnant with the couple’s first child, Alaïa. After that, the former Mercedes driver announced his retirement. And that was good timing.

The following year, Sibold fell pregnant with their second child, Naila. Since Rosberg retired, the couple has moved to Ibiza, where Sibold still does interior designing and where they run a creamery shop specializing in ice cream. We’re happy to report they’re still going strong.

Crystal Marsh

There were plenty of heartbreaks when NASCAR racer, Alex Bowman, revealed that he was, in fact, in a relationship. Bowman announced in late 2021 that he was in a relationship with Crystal Marsh. Though not much is not known about the driver’s girlfriend, and though she goes out of her way to keep a low profile, it has done little to stop the stream of curiosity.

What we know is that Marsh and her family are fans of NASCAR and that her brother got her to attend her first event. We also know that she is a flight attendant.

Gianna Tulio

Unfortunately, the heartthrob in the No. 12 Ford Mustang, Ryan Blaney, is not single. He is currently hitched up with the gorgeous Gianna Tulio. And if you have any doubts about her beauty credentials, she was crowned the 2021 Miss Hooters International.

Blaney and Tulio have been in a long-term relationship, so we will be looking their way soon for wedding bells. Tulio is a model. Unlike Blaney, Tulio prefers horse racing to racing cars – she even owns her own horse, which she got from Leatherman Lane.

Hanna Prater

Sebastian Vettel is one of the most iconic Formula One drivers since he has been the champion four times. And here we finally have proof. After asking Vettel who he credits with all his success, the German driver named his wife, Hanna Prater. Actually, they had only been dating then, but their story started in high school.

In 2019, Vettel tied the knot. Apart from supporting her now-husband throughout his racing career, we also know that Prater was an industrial design student. The couple now has two children, Emily and Matilda Vettel.

Kelly Piquet

Max Verstappen might be one of the youngest Formula One to enter the champions, but we’re not only interested in his racing but also his love life. We know that Verstappen is currently linked to the Brazilian model, Kelly Piquet. It looks like good genes run in Piquet’s family.

Not only was her mother a model, but her father and brother were also F1 racers. It seems like a match made in heaven for Verstappen, especially since Piquet is his biggest fan and cheers him on in every race.

Courtney Force

Graham Rahal is best known as the No.15 driver in the IndyCar. In 2015, Rahal married Courtney Force. And his wife certainly lives up to her name. She is a retired drag racer. Her father was none other than the legendary John Force, who won roughly 150 drag races.

The two seem to have a lot in common, as Rahal’s father was also a racer back in the day. In 2020, the couple had their first child. Two years later, they had their second child. Perhaps, we can expect more professional racers when these two kids grow up.

Hailey McDermott

Simon Pagenaud may be from France, but the driver’s dreams have been coming true in the USA. In 2016, he took home the IndyCar championship title, and later in 2019, he won the Indianapolis 500.

Following his win in 2019, the professional racer decided to marry his girlfriend of seven years, Hailey McDermott. The couple had a dazzling wedding in sunny California. Not much is known about the couple, but Pagenaud has confirmed that all his dreams have come true.

Makenzie Steiner

You’re probably never heard of Makenzie Steiner, and that is just the way Santino Ferrucci wants to keep it. Ferrucci is better known for being the driver of the No 14 Chevrolet for A.J. Foyt Racing in the IndyCar Series.

He has been recently introduced to NASCAR as a test driver for the No. 26 Toyota Supra for Sam Hunt Racing – so watch this space. As said, not much is known about his current girlfriend, Makenzie Steiner, except that the two seem to have a taste of adventure.

Riley Flynn

Colton Herta is the youngest-ever driver to race and win in the IndyCar Series. Since the driver is still very young, he is not yet married, however, he's not single either. He is currently linked to journalism student Riley Flynn. The two started dating in April 2018.

At 18 years old, Herta became the youngest race winner in the IndyCar Series. This was in 2019 when the couple had already been together for a year. If that is not the sign of a promising couple, then surely Flynn attending and cheering him on at races is enough confirmation.

Louise Gjørup

Kevin Magnussen is more associated with Formula One than the IndyCar Series, but he did have a stint with IndyCar last year after Felix Rosenqvist got injured. The driver for Haas is married to Louise Gjørup. Very little is known about Gjørup as she keeps a very low profile on social media.

We do know that following Magnussen’s race in the Grand Prix in Mexico in 2018, he proposed to Gjørup. A year later, they got married. In 2021, the couple welcomed a daughter.

Emma Davies

Scott Dixon is a familiar face in the IndyCar Series. Dixon has gone down in history with having the second most wins in US open-wheel car racing. In February 2008, Dixon tied the knot with Emma Davies. Interestingly, Davies also has a history in sports, as she was the 800m champion in the British Isles.

The year after they got married, the couple welcomed a daughter. The couple has subsequently welcomed two more children — a daughter in 2011 and a son in 2019.

Isabel Hernaez

Unfortunately, the Formula One driver, Carlos Sainz Jr., is not single. We don’t know who should be more disappointed, the individuals after Sainz or those after Isabel Hernaez, who is just as stunning. Like many women involved with professional racers, Harnaez keeps to herself.

We have done a bit of digging and found that the two have been an item since 2017. We also know that she works as a press officer and has a bilingual degree in Journalism. While the two have been going steady for years now, they haven’t gotten married or welcomed any children yet.

Heather Carpenter

Known as Ed Carpenter’s second half and lifelong partner, Heather Carpenter worked as a nurse who was responsible for giving physical treatments to racers. This was how she met Ed Carpenter. The two actually have a sweet story.

Would you believe that Ed had to fake an illness to have an excuse to ask her out? The couple has three kids, Ryder, Cruz, and Makenna, and the entire family is their father’s greatest supporter. Of course, Heather has been his No.1 fan and nurse from the early days.

Marion Jollès Grosjean

Romain Grosjean is more commonly known for being in the No. 28 Honda for Andretti Autosport. However, the Swiss-French driver has had a long history in the sport since he has also raced in Formula One with Lotus, Haas, and a short stint with Renault. Marion Jollès is a TV personality known for co-hosting “Automoto” and “F1 à la Une”.

Like her husband, Jollès is multi-talented and has written two novels. On June 2021, Romain and Marion married. Since then, the couple has welcomed three children; the family currently lives in Chamonix, a commune in the French Alps.

Caroline Bjoerkqvist

Felix Rosenqvist has one of the most dazzling records in motor racing. The racer has been in the Indianapolis 500, the IndyCar Series, Formula One, Formula E, and Indy Lights. The talented driver is currently paired with Caroline Bjoerkqvist. ‘Felix’ means ‘lucky’, and we certainly think so, as Bjoerkqvist is stunning. Though both Bjoerkqvist and Rosenqvist hail from Sweden, the two live in Indiana.

We don’t know much about Caroline Bjoerkqvist, but she starred in the reality TV show "Playmakers," which was filmed in Sweden. Back in the US, Bjoerkqvist can be spotted by the track supporting her partner.

Elizabeth Cannon

This married couple is a power duo. What else can you expect from names such as Will Power and Elizabeth Cannon? He was an IndyCar Series Champion in 2014 and even more recently in 2022 and an Indianapolis 500 champion in 2018.

Elizabeth Cannon hails from Texas. She worked in public relations and served as a rep for his racing team, Walker Racing Team. After tying the knot in Hawaii in 2010, the two had a son.

Heidi Berger

Daniel Riccardo might be our favorite Australian Formula One driver despite keeping us in the dark about his love life until September 2022. Only then, the F1 man felt it was the right time to let us know who he is dating. And unsurprisingly, his current girlfriend also is connected to the world of motor racing.

Her father is Gerhard Berger, an Austrian driver who used to race for Ferrari. Heidi has her own ambitions. Though she is only in her 20s, the young Berger is an up-and-coming actress, so look out to see Daniel’s girlfriend hit the silver screen soon.

Silvana Giaffone Barrichello

Rubens Barrichello will forever be known as Michael Schumacher’s partner at Ferrari. However, for a longer time, Rubens was partnered-up (and we really mean married to) Silvana Giaffone Barrichello. Like many others, Silvana Giaffone comes from a family of racecar drivers.

Her cousin Felipe Giaffone drives for the Brazilian Indy Car, while her uncles Affonso Giaffone Filho and Zeco Giaffone are also Brazilian racing champions. Sadly, this couple’s 22-year marriage came to an end in 2019. Yet, both of their sons, Fernando and Eduardo, have taken an interest in motor racing.

Minttu Räikkönen

It looks like “The Iceman” Kimi Räikkönen finally settled down. Many thought that Räikkönen would never settle down, as the Formula One driver was known for living it up and enjoying his freedom. Even when he moved to Alfa Romeo, Minttu was still a loyal fan of his.

Minttu Räikkönen (nee Virtanen) is a fitness model. She and the F1 driver married in Siena, Italy, in 2016. The pair also has two children, a son, Robin, and a daughter, Rianna.

Marlene Knaus

Niki Lauda has one of the saddest stories in the history of motor racing. Lauda sustained serious burns after a crash in Nuremberg. Lauda’s story and the accident were the topics of the movie “Rush.” Lauda met Knaus before his accident.

Though the Venezuelan Knaus was a model and could probably get any man she wanted, she remained loyal to Lauda even after the accident. Lauda and Knaus split 15 years later, but we can safely say that Knaus’s love and support helped Lauda through some of his darkest days.