During the Civil war, Robert E Lee stated, " I am a Virginian first and always will be a Virginian". Over a hundred years later he would be pardoned for his actions during this conflict by the President of the United States.
Through such a tragedy as the Civil war with brother against brother, Lee wanted his Virginia more than a war which was the bloodiest in the history of this great land.
To this day Robert E Lee's genius and tactics are studied and hopefully our warriors of today also learn about the man and his blessings more than what happened on a battlefield.
Old Virginia has produced many great individuals and one of them made his mark on the hot asphalt race tracks of Nascar.
Very consistent and soft spoken this boy from Chesapeake, Virginia maybe the last of a dying breed in the high stakes world of sport and racing.
Ricky Rudd started by driving Go-Karts and ended up rubbing fenders with the best ever and drove for some of best of all time. He finished by being one of the Iron men of racing.
Rudd was noticed on the world stage in a way that nobody would want. At the Busch Clash in 1984 Ricky suffered one of if not the worst crashes that has been seen in modern history with his big barrel roll in Daytona's tri oval grass driving Bud Moore's Ford. They patched him up and he finished 7th in the Daytona 500 a week later.
Ricky had an answer that few know by winning at the next event in Richmond with his eyes so swollen that he taped them to stay open. This guy was tough.
Ricky Rudd settled into a modest career driving in the big league of Stock Car Racing by winning at least on race for 16 years consecutively.
Probably his greatest feat was to happen years later in Indianapolis by winning the Brick Yard 400 in 1997 as a car owner and driver. No one has won a Cup race being the car owner owner since and for now Ricky is the last of a dying breed.
Great stuff, RL. I grew up in the Tidewater, Virginia area. Same as Rudd. He was a few years older than me. I remember he was in the bigger class in motocross. He was a winner way back then, too.
His Dad, Al, owned a junkyard and he and Ricky's brother, Al Jr, put together a one car, one engine team back in the late 1970s for Ricky to win Rookie of the Year with.
Ricky never drove Late Models. He went straight from motorcycles and go karts to Cup racing. His first start in a friend's car at Rockingham when he was 16 or 17 resulted in a top 20 finish.
I also remember Ricky Rudd driving with his eyes taped open after that incident. And also his Tide ride too. Nice tie to General Robert E. Lee from Virginia.
Oh by the way...even though I am NOT from the south, I do have an Uncle named Robert E. Lee! and a cousin too! That's cause my grandmother actually named him after the General Robert E. Lee. No...my family is not related to the famous General Lee at all.
I live north of Washington DC in Frederick Maryland. My job is as an Automotiive Service Advisor in the Washington DC area..
My interesests are the Blues, Rock music, playing guitar and Nascar racing..
