Ricky Stenhouse Jr. said he wants to keep the focus on his upcoming rookie season.

He got several questions about his personal relationship with fellow Sprint Cup rookie Danica Patrick instead during Thursday's Roush Fenway Racing stop on a preseason media tour.

When he was asked, "Are you and Danica dating or .. ?" he responded:

"We've got a great relationship. Obviously, it started when she came into the sport. We were both going to rookie meetings. It's been cool to work with her in the Nationwide Series. I've felt like she could come to me with advice with the experience I've had.

"But, you know, I don't like to talk too much about my personal life. I think this week is about Roush Fenway, the Gen 6 (car), our sponsors and our season that we're looking ahead to. It's going to be fun racing her in rookie of the year. I think it's going to be very exciting. I've never raced a friend for a championship, for rookie of the year."

Patrick, who filed for divorce earlier this month, was unavailable for comment Thursday.

Monday, during Patrick's media session with Stewart-Haas Racing, she referred to him as a good friend.

Stenhouse acknowledged attending a Professional Bull Riders event with Patrick on Saturday (the two could be seen in pictures posted on a Stenhouse-related Tumblr page), though Stenhouse said they went with a group of friends.

"It was a lot of fun," he said. "I think it was her first rodeo ever."