Aric Almirola, Richard Petty Motorsports driver of the No. 43 Smithfield Ford, shared what being a father means to him.
“Being a dad has definitely changed everything for me. Pre-kids, everything revolved around racing. But, once my son Alex was born, I was no longer focused on the car once I got out and left the garage. I started going back to my bus and being totally focused on playing with Alex or getting on FaceTime with him and my wife Janice if they weren’t at the track. But, the coolest part of that early time with Alex was that my on track performance improved after he was born. It helped that I had a crew chief that was not only building me fast race cars but was also encouraging my focus on my family. It was a great situation to find myself in.”
He explains the importance of being able to have his entire family at the track with him on the weekends.
“Now that Alex is almost four years old and my daughter, Abby, is two years old, we’re able to travel out to the tracks together for the full weekend. They’re starting to walk through driver introductions with me and hop in the ride-around trucks with me. And, sometimes we’ll play with matchbox cars on the grid before it’s time to get in the race car. We’ve really been able to spend quality time together at the race track and make great memories as a family.”
Hats off to you, fathers! All of Richard Petty Motorsports, thank you for all of your love and support over the years. From useless knowledge to the most serious of life lessons, we’ve picked it all up from you and wouldn’t have it any other way; Happy Father’s Day! Source: RPM Motorsports
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