The son also races
Sometimes you have to feel sorry for Junior, the son of a NASCAR legend, a success in his own right (17 Cup wins, back-to-back Busch titles in the late 90s) but nowhere near the driver his late father was. That's the hazard of following your mom or dad into the family business: You'll always be measured against them. Seventeen wins by most accounts is pretty darn good - only seven full-time active drivers have more Cup wins than Junior, but most folks (including me sometimes) consider his results to be just fair.
And then there's Kyle Petty, who will make his 800th career Cup start on Sunday. The book on Kyle is that he's his own man, which is a way of saying that he's not nearly the driver his dad was. Look at his record: Just eight career wins (none since 19-ninety-freakin'-five) and no Cup championships, compared to 200 and 7 for The King. Kyle's last top 5 finish before Charlotte on Memorial Day came in 1997. Racing took the life of his older son, and the family business is a shell of its former self, barely able to keep up with the rest of the big-spending, big-sponsored NASCAR pack.
But Kyle Petty might be the best person, the biggest mensch, not just in racing but all of sports. The charity ride. The camp for sick kids. The fact that he has begged, browbeaten or guilted just about every driver in the garage to open their wallets and do something for someone else.
Dustin Long takes a quick look back at Kyle's career on and off the track. It hardly does the man justice -- probably nothing could -- but you'll remember where he's been and where he's going. It's the best thing in today's paper, and it might be the best thing you read all week.
I don't have any good Kyle Petty stories, none of my own, anyway. Maybe you do. That's what the comments are for.
Comments (3)
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Yeah, I almost ended Kyle's career shortly after his surgery for the broken leg that Dustin talks about.
He was doing his own shopping at a Food Lion in High Point when we came close to a head-on collision with our carts in the soda aisle. He just smiled at me and said "Sorry about that man" and limped on by.
Back in the 80's I worked with guy who grew up with Kyle.... The family always made sure that all of the Little League teams had new uniforms, not just Kyle's team.
If he could somehow just win 1 last race the line on pit road would be bigger than when Big E won the 500.
The at Charlotte this Spring reminded me of the day he won the 600 in the 21 car, just came up a few positions short this time.
Posted on July 26, 2007 12:03 PM
I do feel sorry for Jr. Who would have ever imagined that he would have left Budweiser. They were perfect together.
I never really understood how the sponsorships worked, but then I read this new book, "The 200 MPH Billboard." It's written by a guy who writes for The Wall Street Journal. He not only explains the history of NASCAR, but dissects all the big deals today and tells how the sponsorships work. It told me a lot.
Posted on July 26, 2007 10:45 PM
At least with Junior going with the best org currently in the business, HMS, there'll be no more room for excuses like, my stepmom hates me, can't get along with my cousins, etc.
Rick'll give Junior some excellent equipment as well as great support and then'll it'll be up to Junior to do his thing, provided the thing is there.
I was hoping the Loomis and Labonte additions would help to turn the Petty org around, but on several occasions this year even Kyle placed better than Bobby. I'd love to see someone win in the Petty org probably more than for any other team out there.
Kyle and his father are great people as well as spokespersons for the sport but they just haven't been able to keep up with the rest of the big boys.
Posted on July 27, 2007 2:54 PM