Kyle Petty sat out the race at Texas due to injuries suffered the week before at Bristol. Credit: Autostock
By Lee Montgomery, Turner Sports Interactive
May 3, 2003
9:52 AM EDT (1352 GMT)
RICHMOND, Va. -- Kyle Petty still hurts when he crawls in and out of his race car. But Friday at Richmond International Raceway, Petty crawled out with a smile on his face.
Petty's No. 45 Dodge posted the seventh-fastest speed in qualifying for Saturday night's Pontiac Excitement 400 and will start eighth in the 400-lap race. He and Kurt Busch had the same speed (126.033), but since Busch is higher in points, Busch will start seventh.
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That's Petty's best starting spot of the season and the best since he qualified sixth in this race last year.
All that despite still suffering from injuries sustained in a devastating crash at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 23. And Petty's injuries were worse than originally thought, he said Friday.
The prognosis: four broken ribs (and they were in his back and not his chest, unlike most rib injuries) and a cracked vertebra that has "healed up really nice," Petty said.
"Probably had some cracked bones in my foot, but that's OK," Petty said. "I didn't pay any attention to that, and I don't think anybody else did either."
The doctor told him it would be a six-to-eight-week recovery if Petty sat out. Otherwise, it would be 14-18 weeks.
"So I'm looking at 14 to 18 weeks, and I'm five into it," Petty said.
"I'm a lot better, I will tell you that," Petty said. "I'm a ton better. It still hurts getting in and out of the car, and it hurts on Mondays when the race is over with."
By Wednesdays, the soreness is all but gone. But then it starts over again the following weekend. Winston Cup teams had a weekend off for Easter, but Petty tested at Kentucky Speedway that week. The off-weekend was good, as was California, which is not a physically demanding track.
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| Petty finished 23rd in the 2002 Pontiac Excitement 400. Credit: 2003 Turner Network Television |
Richmond is tougher, and even the first few laps here can be difficult. Still, Petty managed to put the pain aside to rip off a quick lap. But he has a secret weapon.
"Those Goody's Body Pain relievers worked really good," Petty said. "I know my father advertises them, but I recommend them highly."
"You hit so hard that it bruises you all over. My shoulders were sore, my ribs, obviously, were sore. It hurt to breathe, it hurt to eat, it hurt all the time. Over a period of three to four weeks, that's gone away."
Even though Petty missed only one race, Texas, when he was hurt, the injuries have set him and the team back. Plus, Petty Enterprises didn't start 2003 like they would have liked, so the team has had to regroup.
"We had a big team meeting with the 45 guys this week," Petty said. "We sat down and talked and tried to hash some stuff out. We've basically got to start all over."
"Hopefully this is a sign of things we can do. We've got to stay focused on where we're at."
Petty Enterprises took a big step forward last year after a dreadful 2001. Petty helped strengthen the team's depth, hiring an outside engineering firm and a new engine-building company, among other changes.
Petty said the team is still going forward, despite the slow start to 2003. He's finished 26th or worse seven times in nine races, with a best finish of 11th at Talladega.
"We've run a lot better on the race track than our finishes are," Petty said. "We honestly believe that. You can fool yourselves sometimes. We're running as good or better than we ran last year. We're just not finishing any races, and that's a struggle."
The poor finishes have left Petty buried in 38th in the points, so if you look at it that way, the have gone backwards. But Petty sees it differently.
"When we look at our engineering, our aero, our organization and where we're at this year compared to last year, we're moving forward," Petty said. "And we're moving forward at a pretty fast rate."
Just like Friday.
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