Tara Lacy Roquemore is a former on-again, off-again girlfriend of NASCAR Nextel Cup Driver Tony Stewart. Tara is a former marketing assistant for Tony's primary sponsor, The Home Depot. The two met when their paths crossed in the line of duty in 2006 and dated until the late spring of 2007. They rekindled their relationship late in the year but broke up again shortly after the start of the 2008 season.
"TNT" first caught the attention of fans in May 2006, before they were thought to be a couple--perhaps before they were--when they walked the red carpet and were seated together at the Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas, where Tony presented The Home Depot Humanitarian Award. Their personal relationship gave itself away a few months later, however, when Tara was again spotted with Tony in August at lower profile racing events at Brownstown and Paducah Speedways and again in September on a fishing outing with Red Farmer at Tony's Eldora Speedway.
By the end of September 2006, Tony admitted he had a girlfriend and the couple had a public coming out of sorts last month at Martinsville Speedway when Tara stood on pit road with Tony during the Subway 500 pre-race ceremonies. She was also in victory lane celebrating Tony's IROC Championship and his Nextel Cup race win at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Quoting this...
Tony Stewart: "I met a pretty special girl. I got lucky. I met a girl at Home Depot at their corporate offices that I'm pretty excited about. She has a very good way of keeping me grounded right now. I've finally found somebody that I think... I've kinda met my match so to speak. ["NASCAR Raceday," Nov. 19, 2006]
Tara, who was previously married to Marty Gentry of Hiram, Ga., finalized a divorce in Paulding County on Oct. 10, 2006 after four years of marriage. Her marital status was a source of some contention among Answer this... readers and other Tony Stewart fans.
The 27-year-old Georgia native graduated in 2006 from Kennesaw State University with a bachelor's degree in marketing. She is a 1997 graduate of Osborne High School in Marietta, Ga.
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