Danica Patrick continues to win big in NASCAR news coverage

With victories come championships, and with championships come attention, right? To some degree, perhaps.

After winning eight races last year and his first title in NASCAR's top division, Martin Truex Jr. ran a solid second in attracting off-season media coverage. 

Winless Danica Patrick, preparing for her final race and in a new high-profile relationship, led the way.

The marketing consulting firm Joyce Julius & Associates, which keeps track of such things, said Patrick had nearly twice as many "media hits" as Truex in the off-season, defined as Dec. 1 to Feb. 8.

Patrick was credited with 11,319 hits to Truex's 5,783. Patrick's former boyfriend, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., was third on the list with 5,002.

A fan sensation and media darling dating to her arrival in IndyCar in 2005, Patrick drew extra attention in recent months for her search for teams and for dating Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

RELATED: Rodgers will be at Daytona 500 to cheer on Patrick

Patrick announced last season she would finish her racing career by racing in the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500.

She will race Sunday at Daytona, and on Wednesday she let it slip she would drive for Ed Carpenter Racing at Indy (although that wasn't a surprise).

After a short period of speculation, Patrick, a lifelong Chicago Bears fan, confirmed in January she was dating the Packers quarterback.

Truex, meanwhile, has a compelling human-interest story of his own, as his longtime girlfriend Sherry Pollex has battled cancer.