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
This was basically a tire-management race. I know some teams had issues, but we never had any problems.
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 am pleasantly surprised that the teams have gelled like they have to be able to come down here and have two cars that are as competitive as they are right now. I'm pleased with that.
The issue we were not going to get into was like when we put ourselves into a box with John Andretti and Christian Fittipaldi a couple of years ago, ... We wanted to keep three teams but we didn't have a sponsor. We went out and hired a driver but we couldn't find a sponsor for the team ... but had to pay a driver for a couple of years that we didn't have a car for. We're not going to put ourselves in that position again.
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.
We're putting the band back together. We weren't going in the right direction, but I think that's about to change.
With these two working together, it'll take Petty Enterprises to another level, ... My job -- and it's been made clear to me by Robbie -- is to sit my butt in a race car and drive it and keep my mouth shut.
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.
I'm happy, but not surprised. We ran good down here last year.
I run 20-25 miles during the week ... but you really watch what you eat, I think that's the main thing.
The problem isn't necessarily the driver signing a contract in August of 2005 to race for another team in 2007,
I'm not sure anyone has ever done it there before.
It's where we need to be as much as anything else.