Elton Sawyer and Patty Moise went about their business as racecar drivers while they were dating and racing against each other throughout the 1990s.

The couple, who began dating after sharing a ride to a race in Georgia in April 1990 and were married later that year, never saw their relationship as that big of a deal. They treated each other as competitors on the track and as husband and wife off of it.

Patty Moise and Elton Sawyer say they had no problems racing each other while dating or married. (Chad Fletcher/NASCAR Illustrated)

They didnt face nearly the spotlight that will shine on Danica Patrick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., NASCARs new power couple, as they race in the Sprint Cup Series this year.

But Moise and Sawyer are proof that it is possible to race the person you love without a problem.

We raced each other hard and I knew he would race me clean and I would race him clean, Moise said in a phone interview Tuesday. We never got a chance that we were going for a win. I dont know what would have happened then.

All is fair in love and war and racing.

Sawyer and Moise are still married after 22 years. Sawyer, now 53, enjoyed a longer career than Moise. They raced against each other 58 times in what was then called the NASCAR Busch Series.

For us, it really didnt seem that big a deal, Sawyer said Tuesday. We went out and raced. We both shared the same profession and we dealt with it that way.

It was different more for the other competitors, probably. For us, it seemed normal. It wasnt anything out of the ordinary.

Patrick and Stenhouse were good friends while racing in the Nationwide Series the past three years and revealed last week that they are dating. They will race under a bright spotlight this year as both of them move to the Sprint Cup Series full time and race each other for rookie of the year.

Both have said they dont expect their dating to have any affect on how they race on the track, but their now-public relationship has raised numerous questions and sparked spirited debate among fans.

Sawyer and Moise said they didnt feel pressure to race each other harder just to avoid any perception of favoritism in the give-and-take world of racing.

Youre really focused when youre in there and in terms of how I would think about another car I was racing with, I would think about it as far as, Was I chapped with that person or not? Moise said. Or what was my experience in the past racing around that person?

On the rare occasion I got to race Dale Earnhardt, I would always try to find something else to dig down deeper to race because he was my hero. But other than that, you just dont think about it that much.

In other words, as Sawyer put it, it was business at the racetrack.

We raced each other just like it was another car on the track, Sawyer said. Her goal was to win races and things of that nature, and mine was the same. That was how we approached it.

It must have been going quite well. Weve made it (together) for 22 years.

Sawyer said his biggest adjustment to dating a competitor wasnt on the track. It was off the track with the added publicity and spotlight their relationship attracted.

She was used to the spotlight, more of the attention and things of that nature, Sawyer said. I wasnt in the limelight. I had a pretty successful short-track career but I was still trying to get my Busch Series career on track.

I was just another guy in the field trying to make it work. One thing I had to get used to very quick was I was starting to get a lot more media attention for dating, and being married to, one of my competitors.

It actually wasnt the first time Moise had dated a competitor. She said many years earlier when she was road racing, she had dated another driver but they were too competitive off the track to make the relationship work. She had no problems with Sawyer.

Having him to talk to after a race or bounce ideas off of, whether it be something about the car or a team member or somebody youre trying to hire or work with was always such an asset, Moise said.

Him understanding all the different things and the time involved to make it work was always a plus.

The couple doesnt compete against each other anymore.

Moise, 52, hasnt been involved in racing since working as the executive producer for the racing reality show NBS 24/7 several years ago. She raises horses and competes in equestrian eventing.

Sawyer doesnt compete in equestrian events. He doesnt know where the steering wheel or the brakes are on horses, Moise said. A former Red Bull Racing executive, Sawyer is the director of race operations for the Action Express sportscar race team.

Sawyer had two series victories in his career with three top-five finishes in the points standings. Moise had a best finish of seventh at Talladega in 1995, and her best season was the year she began dating and eventually married Sawyer, finishing 22nd in points in 1990.

For Sawyer, there never was any jealousy if his wife beat him on the track.

We had a joint bank account, Sawyer said. So all the money went into one account anyway.

It didnt bother us one bit if one of us was doing well, it was good for all. If she had a great day, I was like, Man, thats awesome. Thats more money in the bank for both of us.

Moise laughed at Sawyers answer and agreed that there was no jealousy as far as their results on the track.

It has a lot to do with the relationship you have, Moise said. Elton Sawyer has been the best thing to ever happen to me. Hes my best friend. He makes things fun.

So even when I was having a hard day at the racetrack, where I felt kind of beat up by the world or whatever, there was a real comfort factor having him and our relationship.