Danica Patrick and her husband are divorcing after being married for seven years, putting a sad note at the end of a historic season for the drver.
Patrick announced the divorce on her Facebook page on Tuesday, which came just one day after she won the NASCAR Nationwide Series Most Popular Driver award.
"I am sad to inform my fans that after seven years, Paul and I have decided (to) amicably end our marriage," she said, according to the Associated Press. "This isn't easy for either of us, but mutually it has come to this. He has been an important person and friend in my life and that's how we will remain moving forward."
"Hospenthal is a physical therapist who met Patrick while treating her for a non-racing injury. The two were married in 2005, and he is 17 years older than the 30-year-old driver," according to the Associated Press.
Patrick is coming off her historic first season racing in NASCAR after leaving from IndyCar after seven years. She raced a full Nationwide race schedule and also rode in 10 Sprint Cup Series races.
On Monday she was named Nationwide's Most Popular Driver in a fan vote after finishing 10th place in the standings, the best result for a female driver.
"Its nice to win this in the meantime," she said, according to ESPN.com.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is the owner of Patrick's Nationwide car, was voted the Sprint Cup's most popular driver, while Nelson Piquet Jr. earned the honor for the Camping World Truck series.
Patrick made history with her finish in the Nationwide standings and will make another mark next year when she becomes the first woman to compete in the Sprint Cup Series full time. She will drive the No. 10 Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing.
"It's been a good year," Patrick said to FoxNews.com. "I've learned a lot. I feel much more prepared for next year. I feel more comfortable with the cars, I feel more comfortable with the weekends and the schedules."
In the 2012 Nationwide Standings Patrick finished 10th with 838 points while starting in 33 races. She finished in the top 10 four times, won one pole and finished 413 points behind the points leader. She also made 10 Sprint Cup starts this year and led 40 laps in the Nationwide circuit.
The year had many ups and downs for Patrick, including tough races at tracks like Dover, Bristol, Darlington and Phoenix.
"I had a lot to expect when I started the year off and I think that's what put me in a little bit of an unhappy place after the second race (of the year) in Phoenix," said Patrick to FoxNews.com. "I just expected it to be going a little bit better right off the bat and be a little bit easier, but it just wasn't."
At Darlington, one of the toughest tracks in the circuit, Patrick completed all 513 laps in the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races and finished 12th and 31st in those races respectively.
"That was a turning point for me in general, I think, of people believing in me," Patrick said to ESPNw.com. "That is one of those tracks that can really test your limits and comfort and ability to cope with something different and new.
Patrick also had to deal with changing crew chiefs after Tony Eury Jr., who had been with her since starting her stock car racing career, left JR Motorsports after getting in a disagreement with the owners. The change helped her to some of the best finishes of her racing career,
"Definitely at the end of this year, it has come around," Patrick said to ESPNw.com. "We're competitive and running well, and I said [in] late summer, hopefully by the end of the year, it can go really well so we can go off on a really happy note for my Nationwide season, and that's what's happening right now."
Patrick has been known more for her looks and endorsements rather than her racing for most of her career, but this year she has performed very well, including finishing 17th in the second race at Phoenix. Her second half results were a big improvement from the start of the year.
According to FoxNews.com, "In her first 25 NNS starts of the season, Patrick's average finish was 20.8. In her last eight races, her average was 12.5, with a worst finish of 16th. That's a huge improvement, any way you look at it. And she was running 13th in the fall Cup Phoenix race when she got tagged coming to the white flag by Jeff Burton."
Patrick also continued to improve in the Sprint Cup as the year went on, finishing 24th at Texas earlier in November and 25th at Chicago in September. In her finl Nationwide Series race at Homestead-Miami, Patrick finished 13 and led four laps.
Some speculation came up towards the end of the year that Patrick's sponsor Go Daddy would move away from the driver and the commercials it used to produce with her in it, but the company quickly squashed all those rumors.
Go Daddy has committed to Patrick and has already said that they will sponsor her as she races a full NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule next year.
