Danica Patrick writes about relationship with Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Danica Patrick became the second athlete to write for Derek Jeter's new website, The Players' Tribune, with a first-person account about her relationship with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and being a woman in racing.

Danica Patrick became the second athlete to write for Derek Jeter's new website, The Players' Tribune, with a first-person account about her relationship with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and being a woman in racing. 

Patrick said she and Stenhouse are "the opposite in almost every way," and a lot of people ask her why she would date another driver or take on that extra scrutiny.

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"I race better when I’m happy. And Ricky makes me happy, even if he pisses me off on the track every now and then," she said. 

From Patrick's account:

The sports media prefers simple narratives: Good vs. Evil. Teammates vs. Enemies. NASCAR can be a lot more complicated. The truth is that there are more misunderstandings than understandings between Ricky and I, because our only mentality is to go flat-out. Hard, hard, hard. I want to take care of him out there just like I would a teammate, but at the same time, I want to beat him because I respect him so damn much as a driver. Right now, only 13 points separate us in the standings, so beating him means beating someone who is really good, which is my job.

Patrick also talked about being a woman in racing. She said she knows she gets extra positive attention because of her gender, such as getting more praise than her male counterparts for a similar finish, but she gets detractors because of it as well. 

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"My position as a woman in racing has always been anything but normal," said Patrick. 

Last week, Russell Wilson became the first athlete to write a piece for the Tribune. Wilson wrote about domestic violence in the NFL and his own bullying past. 

- Molly Geary