NASCAR hottie DANICA PATRICK is ready to race to the altar with fellow driver RICKY STENHOUSE Jr., sources say – but she has to get divorced first!
The 30-year-old speed queen walked away without a scratch after her car blew a tire and smashed into the wall during a race in Phoenix on March 3.
But the big bang-up prompted her to re-evaluate her romance with 25-year-old rookie Ricky, sources say.
“After Danica spun out of control and hit the wall, Ricky was the first thing that came to her mind,” said an insider. “She’s madly in love with him and wants to be his bride. Friends predict they’ll have a racetrack wedding soon.”
Danica filed for divorce from hubby Paul Hospenthal, a physical therapist 17 years her senior, on Jan. 3. They met when he treated her for an injury, and tied the knot in 2005.
Now daredevil Danica – who became the first woman to win a Sprint Cup pole position and lead the Daytona 500 – is ready to fast-track the divorce, insiders say, and put the pedal to the metal on wedding plans.
“Danica is still reeling from the crash,” said the source. “But it’s made her reprioritize what’s really important in her life.
“She told a pal, ‘Whatever it is you really want to do, you need to do it and not wait.’ She’s ready to prove wrong all the naysayers who predicted her romance with Ricky wouldn’t last.”
