Aside from being a driver in NASCAR's elite series, Kyle Petty has also garnered quite a reputation as a business executive and a community leader.
One of the very few third-generation athletes in American sports, Petty had a variety of options for a career. As a winning athlete in high school, Petty was recruited by several colleges for football and baseball scholarships.
A country music career later became an option with more than one Nashville agent saying he had "what it takes" to make it big. But racing remained his first choice.
In 1979, Petty first climbed behind the wheel of a stock car in major competition, visiting Victory Lane in the Daytona ARCA 200-miler -- his first major league competition.
Petty drove five Cup races that year, notching the first top-10 of his career. A year later, he started 15 races -- picking up top-10 finishes in six of them -- before running his first full schedule in 1981.
Petty remained with Petty Enterprises until he joined the legendary Wood Brothers for the 1985 season. A year later, he picked up his first career victory at Richmond, Virginia. Petty moved to SABCO in 1990, where he remained until opening pe2 in 1997. At the end of the 1998 season, Petty moved his team back to Level Cross, N.C., where four teams now sit under the Petty Enterprises banner.
Petty is also known for his community and charitable work throughout motorsports and the country. In 1998, he was named True Value "Man of the Year," and was named NASCAR Winston Cup Illustrated's "Person of the Year" in 1999. Both honors were as a direct result of his hundreds of hours in charitable works.
Kyle Petty's Charity Ride Across America was founded by Petty in 1995 to benefit children's charities across the nation. Many drivers, team members, and others affiliated with NASCAR take part in the ride, visiting children's hospitals and participating in fundraising. Over one hundred riders participate yearly, and have raised over $1.5 million dollars to date.
Petty also works with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Boy Scouts of America, and the Nextel Cup Racing Wives Auxiliary.
Petty also enjoys reading, collecting Elvis memorabilia and riding his Victory Motorcycles.
