Where is ... Ricky Rudd? Throwback Thursday !

Posted by Wayne G. Barber
Even as a youngster riding around his neighborhood on a small, lawn mower engine-powered car, Ricky Rudd wanted to go fast. Moving on to go-karts capable of speeds topping 100 mph as he got older just solidified the mindset. Rudd even dreamed of a future in Formula One racing. But when a family friend offered him a shot at taking the wheel of a stock car, Rudd headed down a different track - one that would propel the Chesapeake native toward a racing career as one of NASCAR's most successful drivers. Rudd holds the record for most consecutive starts with 788. Jeff Gordon is on track to break that mark next month. After his final two years saw limited action and an attempt at owning a team, Rudd stepped away for good after a 21st-place finish at the Ford 500 in Homestead-Miami in 2007. He hasn't been back to a track since.
"The sport was changing and TV changed it," said Rudd, who sold his house in Chesapeake decades ago and comes to South Hampton Roads only sparingly. "It was a difficult decision, but not as difficult as you'd think. "I deal with the contrast of my life pretty good."
Rudd maintains his own property on a lake and enjoys making up for lost time with his family. He goes mountain biking almost every day and the family - which consists of his wife of 36 years, Linda, and 20-year-old son Landon - often travels to the Virgin Islands with his sisters and their families. Every now and then he gets a call for a speaking engagement and at one point gave TV race commentary a try. "Nowadays I do as little as possible, to be honest," Rudd said. But when he does get the urge to go fast, it's not in his Jaguar or Ford GT. Rudd keeps one of the go-karts he grew up with at a local small track and gives himself a 100 mph thrill ride when he needs it. He even competed in a racing series last year against drivers that remind him of his spitfire youth. "I kept a low profile but the kids ended up finding out" who he was, Rudd said. "They're so involved, so they don't care. But you can see the talent coming up and they don't hesitate to hand it to the old guy." Rudd finished second in two of the series' 10 races and was third in the points race at the end. "I was doing it for the fun of it. It's a great workout," he said. "But that third kind of bothered me."
Source: Virginian Pilot