Kyle Petty
Kyle Petty
Kyle Eugene Pettyis an American stock car racing driver. Now retired, he formerly competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and is currently a television analyst for NBC's pre- and post-race shows. He formerly was a color commentator for TNT's NASCAR coverage from 2006 through 2014. He is the son of racer Richard Petty, grandson of racer Lee Petty, and father of Adam Petty. He and his ex—wife Pattie have two other children: Austin and Montgomery Lee. He last drove...
ProfessionRace Car Driver
Date of Birth2 June 1960
CityLevel Cross, NC
Anything can happen here at Bristol, and when it happens it happens quickly. That's why it's hard to avoid wrecks. We just don't have enough time to slow down or make a move around them. You have a car spin . . . it can collect three or four other guys and block the track.
The truth is, the longer it goes, the harder it gets.
You know, that's a hard question. You can't say the sport expanded too quickly, because it didn't expand at all for 45 years. Was Japan a stretch for us, running an exhibition race there? Yeah, I think it was. Was Mexico a stretch? Hmmm ...
For all the Dodge Dealers out there, maybe this will put that dreaded Intrepid thing to rest. All the Dodge teams have worked hard to get better, so maybe the Charger is the way we need to go.
I run 20-25 miles during the week ... but you really watch what you eat, I think that's the main thing.
Our focus has to be the 43 car because that's our brand. That's who we are. In a day and time when everything is marketing, we can't afford to let that brand go away.
We've just got to start building some stuff to get better.
When we looked at it, we'd made very little progress over the last four or five years. We weren't going in the right direction, so we had to look outside our own circle.
Why do I like racing? I was too lazy to work and too chicken to steal.
The demand was really for the night race. You could always get tickets to the day race up here in the spring. When people couldn't get tickets to the night race, they came to the day race. TV did a lot for the night race. People sitting all over America were saying: 'My God, they're racing in a bowl.' They were used to Daytona and Charlotte. I think it's the curiosity as much as anything.
We're excited about the prospects, but are we 100 percent set with the 45 car? ... No, we're not ... and that leaves us with the 43 Dodge, and the issues we have with Jeff Green, who has done a great job for us.
What happens is the guys on the team hear what is going on, and it affects what they are doing. It can be a pretty big demoralizer. Sure, drivers come and go, but telling your crew that you'll be gone in 16-17 months can affect a lot of things between now and the time of your New Year's Eve party going into 2007.
When you've lost a son, there's no price you can put on safety for the driver.
If Adam was here, I probably wouldn't be driving today.