Richard Petty expected back at Richmond (Update)
WHAT IS IT LIKE FOR YOU TO BE BACK? "I just felt like I needed to sort of had a little time on our own so I have been gone for two or three weeks but I am back in the saddle again now. I am just learning to live all over again."
DO YOU THINK BEING AT THE TRACK WILL BE A GOOD DISTRACTION? "Yeah, doing the things we were supposed to do the last few weeks have been put off so starting Monday we were in Georgia and Tuesday we were in Tennessee and Wednesday in Wyoming and now here on Thursday. The busier they keep me the better off I will be."
HOW ARE YOU DOING? "I am surviving. It is going to be different I guess. After 55 years I have to start all over again. I was fortunate that all the kids came home for Easter. We had all the kids and grand kids home and that really made things work good."
WHAT DO YOU EXPECT THE OUTPOURING YOU WILL RECEIVE AT THE TRACK TO BE LIKE?"It is great that so many people knew Lynda so well. Of course she had been around a long time too. She never met a stranger. Every once in awhile I would come in the house and see people I didn't even know. She would invite them in the house to spend the night or whatever. Again, it is just going to be different."
04/24/14 Aric Almirola talked Thursday about Richard Petty's planned return to the track this weekend following the death of his wife, Lynda:
WHAT WILL IT MEAN TO HAVE RICHARD BACK AT THE TRACK THIS WEEKEND?
Almirola – "I think he's doing well. I think being back at the race track is gonna be good for our race team and good for him. I think it'll be good medicine. When something like that happens you kind of want to hide a little bit and just get your feelings straight, but he's been by the shop and been in good spirits and I think he's doing very well considering. We're looking forward to getting him back at the race track and getting him back into race mode. I've spent quite a bit of time with him over the last few weeks since Miss Lynda passed, and it's gonna be great to have our leader back at the race track.
"He's the name and the face of our company and all the guys on the race team, any myself included, look up to him and enjoy having him around at the race track and having him inside the hauler and talking to us after practice and getting his perspective on what he sees with other race cars and with our race cars throughout practice, so I'm excited about having him back at the race track and, like Trent said, I think it's gonna be good medicine for him. He comes to about 95 percent of the races every year, so for him to take the two or three weeks off that he's taken, I know he's itching to get back to the race track.
"He's been watching the practices and watching qualifying and watching the races and Dale Inman goes home on Sunday night and gives him the full report on what went down that weekend and how things went. He's still heavily involved and he's still been paying attention for sure, he just hasn't been at the race track. He knows everything that's been going on." Ford Racing PR