Petty's 800th start comes at a 'perfect' time, place (cont'd)

So start No. 800 comes at, of all places, Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"I like going there, it's a huge plus for our sport," Petty said. "But I questioned it early on, and I believed it at the time that there are certain traditions people should not break. The Masters at Augusta, the Boston Celtics playing basketball at Boston Garden, open-wheel cars at Indianapolis. But then [Indianapolis Motor Speedway president] Tony George said we are not changing an old tradition, we're starting new a tradition and it's been huge. It's an event more than a race. It added another 'major' to our sport. Golf has four majors, well now we have our four or five majors a year and Indianapolis is one."

So I imagine Kyle's father is pretty excited about this, the only father and son to start more than 800 races.

"The King doesn't even know it's coming," Kyle said, laughing. "As drivers, we don't pay attention to the statistics and stuff like that until after the fact. We know we've won races and led races and there are facts and stats like that but you never really pay any attention until after the fact."

As for the future, 800 is a number that might be out of reach for the stars of today. The sport has changed. Drivers have changed.

"I don't think they'll go that far like Dale Jarrett and Ricky [Rudd] and some of the others have," Petty said. "I got here [to 800] because I started when I was 18 because I was at a place where I could start young. The other guys were at a place where they did what they had to do and come up through the ranks and that worked out for them, too. If a guy puts in 300 races, that's a long period of time. You get to be 42 or 43 years old, it's probably going to be time to think about other deals."

And then there is the money. The driver of today can make a lot of money driving the Car of Tomorrow.

"I truly believe the great race drivers don't care about the money," Petty said. "They just want to beat you on Sunday. They want to get the trophy. They race to win. The statistics, the money -- it's all a sidebar to everything else. There is always a group of drivers that drive as a way to make a living and do it as a job. But the guys that drive with a passion never look at it that way."

In his 799 starts, Kyle has eight wins. The most recent victory came at Dover in 1995.

"You get to a stage in your career when you don't challenge every week," he said. "You hope that the one odd week will come along and you run in the top 10 or the top five and with a little luck, hey, maybe you can win.

"Are we capable of winning week in and week out as a group or as a team? No. But that is what we are trying to get back to at Petty Enterprises. You keep striving for that, but at 47 that's not the end-all of my career."

When I think about Kyle Petty, I remember the wins, at Dover, Rockingham and Watkins Glen in the rain. But I also think back over all the years, how he has always been there. That is probably part of the reason he has so many friends in the garage and so many fans in the stands.

"It's funny, ya know? In my entire career I never really believed I was ever anyone's No. 1 choice, but for a lot of people I was the No. 2 choice, and that's OK," he said. "You want to root for Tony Stewart then Kyle Petty, that's OK. Or Kevin Harvick. Or Bobby Labonte. Cheer for them first and then me, that's cool. It's like, well, everybody was a Richard Petty fan, and let's pull for Kyle, too."

Now there's a plan.

And I believe there will be a lot of people pulling for Tony Stewart this weekend. And Jeff Gordon. And Kevin Harvick. Oh, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. And for those people pulling for them, and Kyle, too?

"I would like to have a good, solid run," Petty said. "A top-10, top-15, that would be great. When you have a race like Indy where everybody brings their best game and you're racing against Hendrick and Gibbs and Childress and those guys, a group like ours, a good top-10 would feel pretty good."

But that will not be the feeling when Kyle Petty walks into the garage at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on race morning.

"When you go in there on any race day, you always feel like this is going to be the day," he said. "No matter what happened on Friday or what happened on Saturday, you feel this is going to be your day. The funny part about it is that drivers are optimistic and opportunistic. They run hard. They crash and come back out and run as hard as they can after the crash just so they can be 41st instead of 42nd."

So Sunday morning at Indy, start No. 800, a number most pro athletes could only dream about. What keeps bringing Kyle Petty back?

"I still love being around it, being around the people," he said. "There's a lot of motivation and if you have a good Sunday, it always makes for a better Monday."

And if it was a perfect day?

"Perfect is winning, man," he said. "Any place. Any time. That's the only perfect finish."

And how was the Charity Ride again? Oh yeah, perfect.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.