First Danica Patrick, now Dario Franchitti—or, if you prefer, Ashley Judd.
A few weeks after Patrick, a NASCAR star and former IndyCar driver, announced she was getting a divorce, Franchitti, three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 and former NASCAR Sprint Cup driver, and Judd, actress and diehard University of Kentucky basketball fan, have decided to divorce after 10-plus years of marriage.
“We have mutually decided to end our marriage. We’ll always be family and continue to cherish our relationship based on the special love, integrity, and respect we have always enjoyed,” the couple said Tuesday in a statement to People Magazine.
Judd was front and center when Franchitti won Indy titles in 2007, 2010 and 2011; ABC’s cameras made sure to include her reactions as the race’s drama unfolded.
Judd also was a fixture at NASCAR races at times when Franchitti ran 10 Sprint Cup races for Chip Ganassi Racing in 2008. His best finish was 22nd at Martinsville before Franchitti lost his NASCAR ride due to a lack of sponsorship. He returned to IndyCar, where he won three straight championships for Ganassi from 2009-11.
Franchitti also was running the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2008 before suffering a broken left ankle in a May crash at Talladega and missing five races. He ran just 14 Nationwide events, with two top-10 finishes and a best finish of fifth at Watkins Glen.
Patrick, Franchitti’s onetime IndyCar rival, confirmed this month that she and her husband, Paul Hospenthal, were calling it quits. Soon after, Patrick confirmed that she was dating fellow NASCAR driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (SportingNews)
