Danica done: Patrick drives in final race of NASCAR career
Danica Patrick
DAYTONA BEACH  Fla. (AP) —  Danica Patrick  kissed  her  NASCAR career goodbye with a good luck smooch from NFL star and new boyfriend Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers put his hands on  Patrick ’s shoulders and leaned in for the kiss just before  she  raced for the final time at the Daytona 500 on Sunday.  Patrick  had hugged and fist-bumped family and crew  pulled  her  hair into a ponytail and slid into  her  Chevy.
 Her  final NASCAR start fittingly came on the sport’s biggest stage — in front of 101 000 fans at the Daytona 500.
 Patrick  was in good spirits as  she  approached  her  car that had been swallowed by security  fans  media  and members of Team Danica that made it futile to find a spot near the scrum.  She  posed for pictures with Rodgers  the Green Bay Packers quarterback  who was all smiles in a tight blue T-shirt and jeans before the race and watched from the pits. The starry-eyed sweethearts brought a dose of A-list gravitas to a pit road scene that was more fitting for a red carpet.
 Patrick  opened the first leg of the ballyhooed “Danica Double” on Sunday.  She ’ll make a return in May to IndyCar and race the Indianapolis 500 before  Patrick  calls it quits on  her  racing career.
“When  she  first started at 10  I knew about two months into it  I told my wife she’s going to change racing. I could see it ” said  Patrick ’s father  T.J.
 Patrick  was a driver at peace with her decision and ready to transition into the next chapter of her life.
 Patrick  has moved on from both NASCAR and longtime boyfriend and fellow driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Patrick and Stenhouse  once NASCAR’s it couple  used to sit next to each other at the pre-race meeting. This week  the exes were kept separated on media availability schedules.
 Patrick  posted a photo on Instagram on Saturday of her and Rodgers with her family at the beach. She wrote “Doing Daytona with all the people that mean the most to  me .” The fitness fanatic and author of a workout book also posted a pic of rows of Krispy Kreme doughnuts with the caption  “pre Daytona 500 prep.”
NASCAR recognized  Patrick  in the pre-race meeting in honor of her accomplishments in motorsports.
 Patrick  never had a top-five finish for Stewart-Hass Racing. She never won another pole after her breakthrough at the 2013 Daytona 500. She never had much success but carried the flag as one of NASCAR’s only true mainstream stars. But as results sank  so did interest in funding her ride. Sponsors bailed  cash dried up and she was out of a job.
Patrick is as much a brand these days as she is an athlete. Her love life  Super Bowl ads and racy photo shoots were hot topics that generated more enthusiasm than her actual career accomplishments. She launched the clothing line “Warrior by Danica Patrick” after participating in the design process. She developed the workouts and meal plans for her book  “Pretty Intense: The 90-Day Mind  Body and Food Plan that will absolutely Change Your Life.” Patrick is still a bankable celebrity and should have her pick of any future projects.
DAYTONA BEACH  Fla. (AP) —  [TGT]kissed  [TGT]  NASCAR career goodbye with a good luck smooch from NFL star and new boyfriend Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers put his hands on  [TGT] ’s shoulders and leaned in for the kiss just before  [TGT]  raced for the final time at the Daytona 500 on Sunday.  [TGT]had hugged and fist-bumped family and crew  pulled  [TGT]  hair into a ponytail and slid into  [TGT]  Chevy.
 [TGT]  final NASCAR start fittingly came on the sport’s biggest stage — in front of 101 000 fans at the Daytona 500.
 [TGT]was in good spirits as  [TGT]  approached  [TGT]  car that had been swallowed by security  fans  media  and members of Team Danica that made it futile to find a spot near the scrum.  [TGT]  posed for pictures with Rodgers  the Green Bay Packers quarterback  who was all smiles in a tight blue T-shirt and jeans before the race and watched from the pits. The starry-eyed sweethearts brought a dose of A-list gravitas to a pit road scene that was more fitting for a red carpet.
 [TGT]opened the first leg of the ballyhooed “Danica Double” on Sunday.  She ’ll make a return in May to IndyCar and race the Indianapolis 500 before  [TGT]calls it quits on  her  racing career.
“When  she  first started at 10  I knew about two months into it  I told my wife she’s going to change racing. I could see it ” said  [TGT] ’s father  T.J.
 [TGT]was a driver at peace with [TGT] decision and ready to transition into the next chapter of [TGT] life.
 [TGT]has moved on from both NASCAR and longtime boyfriend and fellow driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Patrick and Stenhouse  once NASCAR’s it couple  used to sit next to each other at the pre-race meeting. This week  the exes were kept separated on media availability schedules.
 [TGT]posted a photo on Instagram on Saturday of [TGT] and Rodgers with [TGT] family at the beach. [TGT] wrote “Doing Daytona with all the people that mean the most to  me .” The fitness fanatic and author of a workout book also posted a pic of rows of Krispy Kreme doughnuts with the caption  “pre Daytona 500 prep.”
NASCAR recognized  [TGT]in the pre-race meeting in honor of [TGT] accomplishments in motorsports.
 [TGT]never had a top-five finish for Stewart-Hass Racing. [TGT] never won another pole after [TGT] breakthrough at the 2013 Daytona 500. [TGT] never had much success but carried the flag as one of NASCAR’s only true mainstream stars. But as results sank  so did interest in funding [TGT] ride. Sponsors bailed  cash dried up and [TGT] was out of a job.
[TGT] is as much a brand these days as [TGT] is an athlete. [TGT] love life  Super Bowl ads and racy photo shoots were hot topics that generated more enthusiasm than [TGT] actual career accomplishments. [TGT] launched the clothing line “Warrior by Danica Patrick” after participating in the design process. [TGT] developed the workouts and meal plans for [TGT] book  “Pretty Intense: The 90-Day Mind  Body and Food Plan that will absolutely Change Your Life.” Patrick is still a bankable celebrity and should have her pick of any future projects.