Opinion
'Drive safe,' says The King
By: Jeff Dufour
Editor at Large/Columnist, "Yeas & Nays"
01/13/09 12:05 AM EST
Petty-fiedIn order to highlight a new safe driving initiative for veterans, the Department of Veterans' Affairs called on perhaps the biggest name in all of driving: Richard Petty, the winningest driver in NASCAR history.
Petty, sporting black jeans, cowboy boots, a grey jacket and his customary sunglasses and cowboy hat, appeared at a noon press conference at the VA to launch the Veterans' Safe Driving Initiative. VA Secretary James Peake explained that in the five years following a deployment to a war zone, there is an "excess risk" of a veteran dying on the road.
But he left it to Petty to explain it in a more colorful way. "When you get back home, it's a little bit different," he said. "I used to run 180 [miles per hour] for three or four hours. But after the race, I'd get in the car with my wife and my three or four kids and I'd go off like I was going 180. And they didn't like that so much. ... And it's the same with [veterans]" returning from war.
"They've been protecting us," he said, explaining his visit. "When they come back, we've got to protect them."
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