Kyle Petty
Encyclopedia : K : KY : KYL : Kyle Petty
| Born: | June 2, 1960 | |
| Birthplace: | Randleman, North Carolina | |
| Awards: | 2005 Pocono Raceway Spirit Award 2004 National Motorsports Press Association Myers Brothers Award 2004 USA Weekend’s Most Caring Athlete 2003 American Motorcycle Association Hazel Kolb Brighter Image Award 2002 True Value Person of the Year Award 2002 March Of Dimes Sportsman of the Year Award 2000 NASCAR Illustrated's Person of the Year 2000 NASCAR USG Person of the Year 2000 National Motorsports Press Association Myers Brothers Award 1999 NASCAR Illustrated's Person of the Year 1998 NASCAR USG Person of the Year | |
| NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Statistics | ||
| Car #, Team | 45 - Petty Enterprises | |
| 2005 in NASCAR>2005 NEXTEL Cup Position: | 27th | |
| Best Cup Position: | 5th - 1992, 1993 (Winston Cup) | |
| First Race: | 1979 Talladega 500 (Talladega) | |
| First Win: | 1986 Miller High Life 400 (Richmond) | |
| Last Win: | 1995 Miller 500 (Dover) | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 8 | 171 | 8 |
| All stats current as of September 25, 2005. | ||
However, Kyle did eventually decide to follow in his father's footsteps and he won his first stock car race, an ARCA event at Daytona International Speedway in 1979. He then entered the Winston Cup soon after that, driving as a teammate to his father at Petty Enterprises. He left his father's team in 1985 to drive for the Wood Brothers team. His first Winston Cup win came the following next year at Richmond International Raceway. Petty returned to driving for Petty Enterprises in 1996 and is now CEO of that team.
Petty's son Adam Petty had begun a promising career in racing as well, but was killed in 2000 in a practice accident at New Hampshire International Speedway. Upon his son's death, Petty finished the 2000 season racing his son's car in the Busch Series.
Petty is active in many charitable causes, such as the Victory Junction Gang Camp for terminally-ill children, which he established to honor his late son, as well as an annual charity motorcycle ride across the country.
He appeared in the 1983 Burt Reynolds movie Stroker Ace.
Teams/Sponsors
Below is a list of all of the different NASCAR teams for which Kyle Petty has driven at the Winston Cup level, and the companies who sponsored him in each year.Teams
- Petty Enterprises- 1979-1984; 1997-present
- Wood Brothers- 1985-1988
- Felix Sabates/Team SABCO- 1989-1996
- STP- 1979-1982
- 7-Eleven- 1983-1986
- Citgo- 1987-1988
- Peak Antifreeze- 1989-1990
- Mello Yello- 1991-1994
- Coors- 1995-1996
- Hot Wheels- 1997-2000
- Sprint- 2001-2002
- Georgia-Pacific- 2003-2005
- Wells Fargo-2006+
- Schwans Home Delivery Service-2006+
- National Tire and BatteryTire Kingdom-2006+
- Merchants Tire/Auto Centers-2006+
- Coca-Cola: MyCokeRewards-2006+
External links
- [Official Petty Enterprises Web Site]
- [Career statistics at RacingReference.com]
- [Kyle's Charity, The Victory Junction Gang]
- [October 2005 interview with Kyle Petty from NASCAR.com]
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