Breakup doesn’t change how Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will race Danica Patrick at Daytona 500

The couple may have ended their five-year relationship in December, but each is racing in February’s Daytona 500.

Danica Patrick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. may no longer be dating, but the two still have to race against each other one last time when Patrick ends her NASCAR career in February by competing in the Daytona 500.

“I don’t think I’ll race any different,” Stenhouse said Tuesday at NASCAR’s Media Tour at the Charlotte Convention Center. “I try to respect everybody around me, especially at those speedway races. You don’t really want to put anybody in a bad spot because you put the whole field in a bad spot.

“I think I’ll go out and race just like I’m racing everybody else and see how it plays out. Heck, when we first started racing together we got in crashes anyway, so it is what it is. I’ll just go out and compete as hard as I can, and I plan on putting myself in a position to win the race.”

Patrick and Stenhouse went public with their relationship just prior to the start of the 2013 Monster Energy Cup Series season, which coincided with them vying for Rookie of the Year honors.

During their rookie seasons, Patrick and Stenhouse both said they competed against one another with respect, though they did have the occasional run-in on the track. Stenhouse went to be named Rookie of the Year, and last season scored his first two wins in NASCAR’s top division.

Meanwhile, Patrick struggled to find sustained success. That prompted her to announce in November that she was done racing full-time and would only the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500 in 2018, then retire to pursue other interests.

A few weeks after her emotional retirement press conference, where she thanked Stenhouse for his support, Patrick announced the couple had separated after five years together. Last week, Patrick revealed she is now dating Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Stenhouse declined to comment on Patrick and Rodgers when asked Tuesday. However, Stenhouse was supportive of Patrick’s desire to race at Daytona and Indianapolis before calling it a career. Patrick will team with Premium Motorsports and will drive the No. 7 car — the same number she had when she first entered NASCAR in 2010 -- and be backed by former longtime sponsor GoDaddy.

“I think it’s a cool way to go out -- if you’re gonna retire -- for somebody that’s done the Daytona 500, run in NASCAR, run in IndyCars,” Stenhouse said. “Her passion has always been the Indy 500, and so I think it’ll be cool for that to be her last race.

“And to hit the two biggest races of the year, really, in the same year will be pretty cool.”