Kyle Petty couldn’t have picked a better time to climb back into the No. 45 Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge.After taking a few weeks off for a stint in broadcasting, Petty will get behind the wheel in time for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. The day will be a special one for the 47-year-old, as he will be making his 800th career Nextel Cup Series start.
“It’s kind of crazy to think that this will be my 800th start,” Petty said. I just started back in 1979, when I made my Cup debut, and you never think that you are doing the same thing for 30 years. I think about a lot of people that have helped me sustain such a long career – my family, Felix (Sabates), the Wood’s and everyone else that have been a part of it.
“It’s because of those people and the great equipment they put me in throughout my career that I am able to join my father on that exclusive list of drivers. It just so happens that it falls at a track like Indy, with all the racing tradition they have there, that makes it even more special.”
When he takes the green flag on Sunday, Petty will join an elite group of six drivers who have achieved the feat. Petty’s father Richard holds the record for most starts with 1,185. Petty enters Sunday’s event 36th in the points standings and said he is looking forward to getting back into the racecar.
“I am just excited to get back in the car,” he said. “Billy Wilburn (crew chief) and the entire No. 45 Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil team have been working so hard while I was away. (Chad) McCumbee was on the verge of a great run at Pocono before rain cut it short.
“The team went to Kentucky to test earlier this month and they really learned a lot of front-end geometry stuff that I think should help us everywhere we go, including Indy. It really helped John’s (Andretti) car at Chicago. We just need a little bit of luck on our side. Right now, our Petty Enterprises Dodges are as good as they have been all year. If we can put in a good qualifying effort on Saturday that will get us off on the right foot because it can be difficult to pass at Indy.”
Petty’s best finish of the season came at Lowe’s Motor Speedway when he placed third in the Coca-Cola 600. While he would love to pick up a win at Indy on Sunday, Petty said a win at the Brickyard still can’t compete with a victory at Daytona.
“Everyone wants to win at Indy, sure, but it’s not Daytona and never will be – at least for us,” Petty said. “For us, it’s always going to be Daytona. Indianapolis will be the place for open wheel racers. ‘OK’, the place has the feel of Yankee Stadium, Lambeau Field or Madison Square Garden, a place where some of the greatest athletes in sports have played, but that’s for the open wheel guys. We have those feelings when we get to Daytona. This is still a big race for us, but it’s not going to top Daytona.”
Petty said he enjoyed his time out of the car, broadcasting races for TNT and hosting the Chick-fil-A Kyle Petty Charity Ride. The charity ride is an annual event to raise funds for the Victory Junction Gang Camp, a project the Petty family started in memory of their son Adam.
“These last couple of weeks have been very busy and I haven’t even raced since Sonoma,” Petty said. “The TNT Sports stuff was an awesome experience. I hope to be able to do more of that. Plus we just finished up our 13th annual Chick-fil-A Kyle Petty Charity Ride. This year we went North to South instead of West to East. I think everyone enjoyed the change. It was a lot of fun and we were able to help a bunch of kids in the process. Now it’s time to get back into the car and race.”
