Ride Me

Here's racing star Josef Newgarden giving Danica Patrick's racing career the respect it deserves ... praising Danica as a trailblazer, who opened the door up for generations of women racers.

All while standing next to his solar hot girlfriend.

First things first ... we got Newgarden -- the 2017 IndyCar series champ -- and asked what Patrick's legacy to the sport would be, and he couldn't have been more gracious.

"Danica's been great for our sport, I think to me someone who was a leader for not just female race car drivers, but female engineers and female fans of the sport."

Second things second ... Josef did all this praising while standing next to his GF, Ashley Welch, and we gotta say GOOD LORD she's fine.

Drake and his driver got an earful from an Uber driver who went ballistic after Drizzy's driver apparently dinged his car ... and it's all on video.

The "In My Feelings" rapper was arriving at Delilah in WeHo on Tuesday night ... on his way inside, you hear someone howl from a distance, "F***ing idiot." Drizzy stops dead in his tracks.

Our camera guy quickly figures out what all the ruckus is about ... the driver is chewing out Drake's muscle/driver for allegedly swinging his door open, right into the Uber.

T.I. says the $225k whip he got his wife, Tiny, for her 43rd birthday is just one item on a long list of things he's gifted her over the years, but she's given him the best gift back.

T.I. was in the Big Apple Monday and we asked about the Mercedes-Benz S550 he had customized in less than 24 hours for his wife, but T.I. didn't feel like talking specifics.

In fact, doesn't sound like T.I. is keeping track of all the gifts he's gotten his gal of 17 years ... instead, he says he's more worried about her reaction.

As for what he's gotten in return ... T.I. delivers a seriously good answer. If you need a hint: there's 3 of them.

George Clooney is recovering after another vehicle cut him off while he was riding his scooter -- and the accident was bad enough an ambulance had to rush him to a hospital.

George was riding Tuesday morning on the Italian island of Sardinia when a Mercedes-Benz sedan turned in front of him and hit him. He was knocked clean off the scooter, and left sprawled out on the road. The driver of the Benz stopped and called for assistance.

The Cloons was taken to Sardinia's John Paul II Hospital, and reportedly suffered bruising on his leg, arm and ... pelvis. He got an MRI, but has already been released, so seems like he'll be okay.

Cops told NBC the other driver was totally in the wrong.

Tyler Perry went and pulled an Oprah ... he bought Tiffany Haddish a brand spanking new caaaaaar!

Tyler says Tiff had been talking about buying the new ride -- a Tesla Model X -- but complained there was no time in her schedule to do the whole car shopping thing. Well, that's what friends are for, apparently ... 'cause TP did the dirty work for her. Or more likely, an assistant did it for him, for her.

Anyway ... Tiffany wins!

Tiff is known for being frugal ... her love of Groupon deals landed her a gig as their spokesperson, and she once said she'd never own a nice handbag till she could keep it full with as much cash as it was worth.

Move over, Bruce Wayne ... Chris Brown's rolling like a real-life Dark Knight in a customized SUV that makes the Batmobile look like a soccer mom's ride.

We're told CB dropped more than $350k for a Rezvani Tank -- a game-changer that, for starters, is bulletproof. We're sure Chris isn't looking to test this in the real world, but we're told the Tank can withstand multiple rounds from automatic weapons.

Now, for the serious Batman-like stuff. Chris' customized Tank features:
- Smoke screens to, literally, leave everyone in the dust
- Thermal night vision, viewable on a display screen
- Electric door handles to shock any approaching intruders
- Easily deployed defensive spike strips

Best of all -- even with all those hardcore toys -- we're told the whole rig is actually street legal! More than we can say for that other super whip ...

CB custom ordered the Tank several months ago, and just recently had it delivered.

Justin Bieber's seeing red, but in this case it's a very good thing ... he got a brand new luxury whip dropped off at his luxury hotel.

JB's special delivery went down Friday at the Montage resort in Laguna Beach, CA, when a flatbed truck arrived with a brand new, custom Lamborghini Aventador ... with a price tag likely well over $500,000.

We're told the Biebs took some video and admired the flashy red sports car for a bit -- as did all the passersby -- before hopping in and taking the 730 horsepower ride for a test drive.

Pusha T and his manager went with a salt and pepper theme -- or maybe ebony and ivory -- for their brand new whips ... but either way, they're looking dope.

The rapper bought a white 2018 488 Spider at Ferrari of Central New Jersey Monday, while his manager, Steven Victor, opted for a black 2018 488 Coupe. We're told Pusha paid about $320k for his and Steven plunked down $300k.

The fellas took their Ferraris to get tinted afterward at The Art of Tint in Brooklyn.

Devin Booker let his car do the talking Sunday night ... and we were listening -- 'cause his murdered-out Ferrari was singing!!

We got the quiet Phoenix Suns superstar -- and what looks like a Ferrari 488 -- outside of Craig's with a lady friend when we couldn't help but linger on the $250,000-plus machine.

The whip was dope ... with a sleek matte black finish that made it look straight outta Bruce Wayne's garage.

Kylie Jenner's latest photo shoot could be titled -- Things That Make You Go Vroom Vroom ... but there are a lot of other options, too.

Kylie shared a few pics of herself hanging out Saturday night in an all-black getup -- crop top and patent leather pants -- in front of a hot whip ... which appears to be the LaFerrari push present Travis Scott bought her a few months back.

According to Kylie, the shoot was totally impromptu ... because she captioned one of the pics, "We didn't plan this." Of course, she captioned another one "your uber's outside" ... so it's hard to tell.

The damages to the G-Wagon Mac Miller crashed will be someone else's problem ... once a winning bid's accepted at auction.

The whip's being auctioned off by the fine folks at Copart. The insurance company totaled the vehicle, because the repair cost exceeded its value.

The estimated retail value of the car is around $100k ... the top bid so far is just north of $12k. Buyer beware ... the car's got a few scratches, to say the least.

The auction runs through Wednesday.

Drake just made a giant leap in the Son of the Year award standings ... plunking down some serious money to get his dad, Dennis Graham, a baller-ass gift on Father's Day.

Our sources say Dennis was home Sunday and got a call saying there was a gift outside for him. Thinking it was just some package delivery, Dennis strolled outside and, lo and behold ... someone pulled up in this SICK baby blue Bentley.

The guy delivering the whip told Dennis it was a Father's Day gift from Drake. In obvious shock, Dennis called Drake right away and couldn't be more thankful for the new wheels.

Maverick's back ... and the need for speed is real.

Tom Cruise was spotted casually riding solo on a motorcycle Wednesday afternoon on set of the "Top Gun" sequel -- "Top Gun: Maverick." Day one of filming went down at a military base in San Diego.

We also got a shot of one of the fighter jets that will presumably be used in the sequel to the hit 1986 action movie. Tom himself announced filming had begun by posting a teaser image with the tagline, "FEEL THE NEED."

Of course, the original had Cruise with costar Val Kilmer as Iceman, Anthony Edwards as Goose, Tom Skerritt as Viper and Kelly McGillis as Charlie.

So far the plot of the sequel's been kept under wraps and, other than Tom, no casting's been announced. We know this ... it's still Top Gun school, so there will definitely be fighter jets -- and we're absolutely positive any Goose scenes will have to be flashbacks. That was a helluva thing.

RIP Goose. Who's gonna play piano now?

Jay Leno might be 68 years old, but he's driving like he's 25 in spirit ... and maybe about 90 or so on the road.

The former 'Tonight Show' host was spotted revving up on the I-5 freeway in Burbank, CA Sunday in what appears to be a 1930s-inspired whip. We're not car experts, so don't quote us ... but it kinda looks like a classic '70s era Clénet -- maybe even a 1950 Bentley.

Eyewitnesses tell us Jay was driving about 55 mph in the right-most lane, flashing the peace sign at cars passing him ... and letting the wind have its way with his hair. We're told the car even backfired while he was cruising ... yeah, you know it's an oldie!

There were no other cars or cameras tailing him, so this doesn't seem to have been filmed for his series "Jay Leno's Garage," where he talks shop and tests rides like this all the time.

Lil Xan says he suffers from anxiety and that's what everyone saw on display when he keyed his whip ... but he's good now, and so is the G-Wagon.

We got the rapper Tuesday at LAX, and asked what led to his mental breakdown a couple weeks ago. You'll recall, LX kicked the crap outta his brand new Mercedes SUV and keyed the ride -- all while going off about being a slave to his management. He also bitched about having zero control of all the money he's making.

Lil Xan's definitely looking and feeling better now. He especially dug the Audrey Hepburn compliment our camera guy gave him. But, it's interesting, as LX started breaking down what drove him to key his car, his manager yelled from off-camera ... warning him not to say anything stupid.

Tekashi69 was charged with assaulting a police officer this week in New York after a traffic violation quickly escalated ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us Tekashi was approached by an officer in Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn Sunday while his SUV was illegally parked in front of a fire hydrant and, when asked to produce a license ... the cop found it was suspended.

Tekashi was taken in to a Brooklyn precinct to be given a desk appearance ticket, but police soon learned there was an open warrant for his arrest in Texas. We're told that's when they cuffed him and tried taking him into custody ... but not before he allegedly got grabby.

Cops say Tekashi squeezed a lieutenant's hand while being apprehended, squeezing it so hard apparently that it caused swelling. He was booked for assaulting a police officer -- a felony -- and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

He was arraigned in Brooklyn Criminal Court and released on $25k bail.