Racing community stunned at loss of Petty heir-apparent

Posted: 05/14/2000

The Courier-Tribune Online, Asheboro, North Carolina

Saying farewell to promise...
Racing community stunned at loss of Petty heir-apparent

By Tony Bolick
Sports Writer, The Courier-Tribune

LEVEL CROSS - In 1993, the NASCAR community was shocked by the death of Alan Kulwicki, who was killed in a plane crash on his way to Bristol, Tenn., for a race.

On Friday, the same community suffered another devastating blow with the death of 19-year-old Adam Petty, grandson of the legendary Richard Petty and heir-apparent to the family trademark - Winston Cup racing. Adam died of injuries sustained during a practice crash before Friday afternoon's qualifying at New Hampshire International Speedway.

The effects of the tragedy was still reverberating throughout the industry Saturday when Tim Fedewa, a friend of Adam's, spoke to the media in near tears after winning Saturday's Busch race where Petty was to have raced.

"I wasn't his best friend, but he made you feel like you were his best friend," Fedewa said in victory lane. He dedicated the race to Adam and all the Petty family.

After the race, equipment haulers took a ceremonial lap around the New Hampshire track in honor of the lost competitor. Others wore black ribbons or stickers bearing Adam's name, 1980-2000 and his car number, No. 45.

Petty's death comes at a difficult time since the family had lost Richard's father and family patriarch, Lee Petty, on April 5, just five weeks earlier.

Adam's dad, Kyle, on an off-week for the Winston Cup tour, was on a personal trip overseas when the news of Adams' death came. At last report, he was scheduled to reach New York Saturday.

The tragedy is especially difficult this weekend, Mother's Day weekend.

On a somber note, Adam's primary sponsor, Sprint, sent out a promotional Mother's Day release featuring Adam. While on the road in New Hampshire, Adam was scheduled to be in contact with his mother and the promotion, which was released to the media Thursday afternoon, quoted Adam as saying:

"Mom would never forgive me if I didn't call her on Mother's Day ... it's easy for me to keep in touch with her on a daily basis with my Sprint PCS phone and even order her flowers at the last minute if I forget."

But tragedy stepped in.

On Friday, Adam was practicing his Chevrolet when he scraped the wall in turn three, spun and slammed into the wall with the right side of the car. Rescue crews took about 20 minutes extricating him from his car before airlifting him to Concord Hospital in Concord, N.H. Just before 3 p.m., the hospital issued a statement announcing that Adam had died from head trauma suffered in the accident.

"It is difficult to express our sadness over the passing of Adam Petty," said NASCAR president Bill France. "On behalf of the entire NASCAR family, we extend our hearts and prayers to his parents, Kyle and Patti; his grandparents, Richard and Lynda; and the entire Petty family. The Pettys are an integral part of the sport of NASCAR. The entire NASCAR community will miss Adam Petty."

Flags at Petty Enterprises in Level Cross were lowered to half-staff after the news reached home. Workers there spent the afternoon answering calls from concerned fans and talking with visitors at the Petty Museum.

News of his death hit hard at New Hampshire where drivers continued with qualifying for Saturday's 200-lap race, some near tears when talking to reporters, including pole-sitter Tim Fedewa, the eventual winner.

The news also reached into the Winston Cup circle, which Adam was scheduled to join next year.

"It is a real blow to hear this news," said third-generation driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., who raced with Adam last year in his final Busch season. "Adam and I came into this sport at roughly the same time, so I looked at him almost like a classmate. We shared a lot of interests and we shared a lot of laughs. He was always smiling and easy going.

"I can't express how much sorrow I feel for the Petty family, but I know they are strong and will pull through this tragedy. I want to send my deepest sympathies to the Petty family. They have done so much for everyone in this sport."

It is not the first time that the family has had to deal with difficult times due to tragedy. Richard Petty walked away from his brief drag racing career when an 8-year-old boy was killed in the stands. Something broke on the car Richard was driving, causing it to crash into the area where the boy was. Then in the 1970s, Richard had another member of his family killed when an air tank blew up during a pit stop at Talladega Superspeedway.

Even Adam himself had a difficult summer in 1998 when his close friend and crew chief Chris Bradley was killed in Minnesota during an ASA race. It occurred during a pit stop when the jack dropped and Adam inadvertently ran over Bradley. Shortly after that accident, Petty won his first race and dedicated it to Bradley's memory.

Adam's career path was a very brightly lit one. Even with his trials and tribulations this season, Adam and the team members had felt they were making great strides and constantly improving their performance even though the team's finishes were not reflective of that improvement.

Adam, a 1998 Trinity High School graduate, also managed to uphold the Petty name. He matched and surpassed a mark set by his father when Adam won in his very first ARCA start at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord in 1998. Kyle also won his very first ARCA start when he took the checkered flag in the event at Daytona in 1979. Both were 18, but Adam was a few months younger, becoming the youngest driver to ever win an ARCA race.

This tragedy rings very similar, in a different way, to another NASCAR tragedy that happened to one of the great racing families back in 1993. That year, Bobby Allison lost two sons, in a span of about two months when son, Clifford, was killed in a practice crash for the Busch race at Michigan Speedway, then losing his other son, Davey Allison, after a helicopter crash at their home track of Talladega Alabama.

Adam, who was born in High Point, was the only fourth-generation driver in NASCAR history. He made history with his first Winston Cup start at Texas Motor Speedway last month, three days before his great-grandfather passed away. Adam was slated to run four more Cup races this year before returning, along with two other Petty cars, for his rookie season in the return of Dodge to Petty Enterprises and Winston Cup racing.

The eldest of Kyle's three children, Adam ran a handful of races at Caraway Speedway before breaking out to run American Speed Association (ASA) and Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) races. In 1998, Adam started his first Busch Grand National Series event at Gateway International Raceway, finishing 27th.

Petty made his full-time Busch Series debut in 1999, running for rookie of the year honors, but finishing behind rookie of the year Tony Raines and Hank Parker Jr. He finished 20th in the points with three top fives and four top-10 finishes, including his season best fourth at California Speedway.

Team member Randy White said Adam was one of those drivers who had everything going for him.

"He wasn't like your average driver," White said. "He was at the shop every day, if possible, helping us. He just loved every aspect of it. That's what makes it so hard to take when he had such a bright future."

A private funeral service will take place on Monday at High Point University.