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Visiting NASCAR driver says he’s ‘living the American dream’

Hank, left, and Jack Mansell check out Aric Almirola's race car Tuesday, March 1, 2016 at the Hixson Food City.
Hank, left, and Jack Mansell check out Aric Almirola's race car Tuesday, March 1, 2016 at the Hixson Food City. Hank, left, and Jack Mansell check out Aric Almirola's race car Tuesday, March 1, 2016 at the Hixson Food City.

By Mike Pare 3 min read

It's every kid's dream. It's an honor and a privilege. Every time I strap into that race car I feel like I'm racing his legacy.

NASCAR driver Aric Almirola says he’s living the American dream.

His father’s side of the family left Cuba in 1966 to flee communism and seek freedom in America, and now he’s driving racing legend Richard Petty’s No. 43 car on weekends.

“It’s every kid’s dream,” Almirola said in Chattanooga on Tuesday. “It’s an honor and a privilege. Every time I strap into that race car I feel like I’m racing his legacy.”

Almirola was at the Food City in Hixson where he was making bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches for race fans and promoting the Food City 500 Sprint Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway in April.