45 Days ‘til Daytona: Kyle Petty, my second favorite driver

If you don’t like Kyle Petty raise your hand.

No one raised their hand. OK, that’s what I thought.

While Kyle Petty, the driver is no longer active, Kyle Petty the man is. And it’s tough to hate Kyle Petty the man.

Kyle Petty hasn’t driven since the Phoenix race in 2008, where he crashed out after 270 laps, finishing 39th. And Kyle hadn’t been really good for years before his last race in the No. 45 car for Petty Enterprises. However, Kyle took off part of that year to be on TNT when the station covered six races in the middle of June and July.

That’s where the “newer” Kyle Petty has taken off. He’s on SPEED Channel now, offering thoughts about the upcoming race, and he, like Michael Waltrip, Kenny Wallace and others provide insight that only former drivers could provide.

Petty’s racing career took a quick back seat when his son Adam died in 2000. “Everything changes,” Kyle told Dustin Long last year on the tenth anniversary of Adam’s death. After his son’s death Kyle, along with his wife Pattie, began the Victory Junction Gang Camp.

And since that day, Kyle and Pattie and everyone else associated with NASCAR have given their all to build the Victory Junction Gang Camp—a place for children with chronic or life-threatening illnesses a place to play, fish and ride horseback, like normal kids.

So, on this day, with just 45 days until the green drops in Daytona, I remember Adam Petty, and his number 45, and his father Kyle, who may not have been the best racer, but it’s tough to argue what kind of man he is.