Danica Patrick first gained famed in the early 2000s as one of the few women to race cars professionally. Even non-race fans know her from tons of TV show appearance and ad campaigns.

These days, Patrick drives the number 10 car in the NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series and has just teamed up with dental care provider Aspen Dental to act as a spokesperson for their Healthy Mouth Movement, which delivers free dental care and oral health education to those in need.

Enstars caught up with Patrick to talk about her new partnership, her past experience posing with Sports Illustrated and if she would give up her career to have a family.

Enstars: Were you aware of this issue of lack of dental access, especially for veterans, before your partnership with Aspen Dental? It's kind of messed up!
Danica Patrick: I definitely became more educated on how hard it is sometimes to get to the dentist...I didn't realize how big of an issue it was. We've been doing everything we can between myself and Aspen Dental to raise awareness for people to have healthier mouths, and Aspen has taken it under their own hands from an access and financial standpoint to offer free dental care to people across the country with free mobile care, which is a dentist office on wheels that travels all over.

It seems you're becoming more known for being "health conscious." Were you always so focused on healthy living?
I have always been focused on it. I have been eating healthy and working out since I was a teenager. But with the day and age of social media, it makes it a lot easier to show people how into it you are...whether it be working out or something that I cooked at home. There's definitely downfalls to it and everyone can have an opinion and you might just read it, which isn't always positive. But on the other side of it, there are so many great people and you get to show that other side of your personality.

Driving in NASCAR seems really scary. Are you scared when you crash or spin out during a race?
I think if you feel like you're going to crash, there is usually enough time to say "Oh shoot." And if you don't, you're like, "I don't know how I got away with that," but I feel pretty lucky. In Daytona, I had a little bit of a wild ride through the grass after coming together with another car and luckily, it didn't hit walls or flip or hit another car for the most part so you kind of walk away thinking "That sucked...but it could've been worse." So is there a fear? I don't know. It's part of the job and I trust that NASCAR does a good job with trying to make the cars and tracks as safe as possible.

In the new Sport Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, Ronda Rousey did a photo in just body paint. Did SI ever ask you to do something like that?
They did. I did it two years in a row...And I just didn't think it was the right opportunity for my career at that point in time so I said no. I thought it would've been fun from an artistic perspective, the body paint takes at least 12 hours to put it on and then you shoot for like 30 minutes until the sun goes down so I thought it would be a really cool challenge and a great experience, but at some point in time you say yes and you say no to certain things and you just make the best decision possible at the time for your career and at that point in time.

You and Ricky Stenhouse are a couple and you're both in racing. What's that like?
What's great is we have the same schedule. We understand the demands and the requirements on our time. So I feel like we both understand the demands that are put upon us and the experiences we have on the racetrack...which is a very unique thing.

Would you stop racing to have a family?
I wouldn't stop racing to have a family, but I think at some point in time, it could happen where I'm not as passionate about racing and I'd rather do something else and then I would. But it would only be if my passion for racing wasn't there. But at this point in time I love racing and this is what I want to do.

Tags
Danica Patrick