Celebrity Deathwatch: Adam Petty, NASCAR Driver, 19

["Deathwatch Central" <cdw@slick.org>]

http://cnnsi.com/motorsports/news/2000/05/12/petty_crash/

Adam Petty dies

Richard Petty's grandson killed in crash at NHIS

Posted: Saturday May 13, 2000 02:10 PM

LOUDON, N.H. (AP) -- Adam Petty, the fourth-generation driver of NASCAR's
most famous family, died after a crash Friday during practice at New
Hampshire International Speedway.

The 19-year-old driver was taken to Concord Hospital, where he died of head
trauma, spokeswoman Jennifer Dearborn said.

Petty crashed during practice for Friday's qualifying for Saturday's Busch
200 on the 1.058-mile oval.

His car appeared to brush the wall in Turn 3, spun out, and then crashed
into the wall. The car did not catch fire, but he was trapped inside for
about 20 minutes before crew and rescue workers freed him.

"I knew it was a hard hit," said spectator David Henderson of Manchester,
who was at a nearby concession stand. "At first, everybody thought it was
just a crash. Then it was like the whole place went silent."

Andrew Watson, another fan, had tears in his eyes after learning the crash
was fatal.

"There's no way this was his fault," said Watson, who said he knew Petty.
"He was a nice guy, a real nice guy. He was just following in his family's
footsteps."

Petty is the grandson of seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty and the
son of Kyle Petty, a regular on the Winston Cup circuit. Adam's
great-grandfather was Lee Petty, one of the pioneers of NASCAR.

"The whole family is sad right now, that's all I can say," said a man who
answered the phone at Richard Petty's home in Level Cross, N.C. He
identified himself as a family friend and said the family was at the nearby
home of Kyle Petty.

Adam's Petty's death was the first on-track fatality in NASCAR since John
Nemechek was killed in a Craftsman Truck Series race in Homestead, Fla., in
1997.

"It is difficult to express our sadness over the passing of Adam Petty,"
NASCAR President Bill France Jr. said. "On behalf of the entire NASCAR
family, we extend our hearts and prayers to his parents Kyle and Patty, his
grandparents Richard and Lynda and the entire Petty family."

The last death in Busch competition was that of Clifford Allison, the son of
another NASCAR Hall of Famer, Bobby Allison. Clifford Allison was killed
during practice for a race Michigan Speedway in 1992.

Lee Petty died April 5 at age 86 from complications of a stomach aneurysm
several weeks after surgery. Adam Petty had made his Winston Cup debut just
three days earlier in Fort Worth, Texas.

Lee Petty won 55 races, still seventh-best in NASCAR history, and three
Grand National -- now Winston Cup -- championships. In 1959, he become the
photo-finish winner of the first Daytona 500.

His son Richard became the king of stock car racing with a record 200
victories and seven championships.


Richard's son, Kyle, is in his 20th year as a Winston Cup regular, and has
taken over the day-to-day business of running the family's team.
Adam Petty's entry into racing made the Petty Enterprises team the first
with four generations of NASCAR drivers.

It was his second season as a Busch Series regular and he planned to drive
in five Winston Cup races this season in preparation for a shot at the
rookie title in 2001.

He was 20th last year in the Grand National points race and third in the
rookie-of-the-year standings, finishing a career-best fourth in Fontana,
Calif., in May.
"I don't know what to say," Winston Cup driver Steve Park said. "Adam and I
were joking around this morning right before practice and then to have this
happen is unreal. Racing seems so unimportant right now."

"This is tragic. When I heard this I could not believe it," 1995 Busch
Series champion Johnny Benson Jr. said. "To have someone so young and with
such a bright future ahead of him die like this is a hard thing to swallow.
Its so rare for this to happen in NASCAR because they have made the cars so
safe in recent years. Sometimes you get lulled into thinking it can never
happen."

Petty had planned to drive full time next year on the Winston Cup circuit in
one of the new Petty Enterprises' Dodges as a teammate of his father and
John Andretti.
Adam Petty first got serious notice in racing in September 1998 when he won
the ARCA race in Charlotte, N.C., at age 18, becoming the youngest driver to
win a race in that series. He also ran the full American Speed Association
season that year.

He also is survived by his mother, Pattie, his grandmother, Lynda, and his
great-grandmother, Elizabeth.

Petty's death was one of several involving NASCAR drivers in the last eight
years. Clifford Allison's older brother, Davey, a Winston Cup star, was
killed in a helicopter crash at Talladega Superspeedway in 1993. A few
months earlier, 1992 series champion Alan Kulwicki died in a plane crash in
Tennessee.

Winston Cup driver Neil Bonnett was killed after crashing during practice
for the 1994 Daytona 500.

Copyright 2000 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not
be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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