October 9, 2009
By Rebecca Gladden
Just a few months ago, I interviewed Kyle Petty about his upcoming cross-country charity motorcycle ride, the 15th Annual Kyle Petty Charity Ride for Victory Junction Gang Camp, which took place in May.
So I was surprised to learn that Petty and a group of riders will be hitting the road again this weekend, less than six months later.
But this Saturday's "Ride to Victory" is a bit different than the longer cross-country event, though no less important for the children who benefit from the good works of Victory Junction Camp.
"This would be comparable to a local poker run or a local ride," Petty told me by phone Thursday. "This is our seventh year for this ride, even though we've done our big ride for 15 years. It's a short ride, about 150 or 200 miles."
Saturday's event will start off at the Carolina Harley-Davidson store in Gastonia, North Carolina, and will end at the Victory Junction Camp, where participants will meet and interact with Camp Ambassadors. "These are kids who've come to camp and then come back and just spend time. If anybody on the ride has any questions about camp, they'll answer them and give tours. It's pretty cool when you get an eight-year-old giving you a tour of camp."
Petty said that in the past, the ride has included a behind-the-scenes tour of various NASCAR race shops, including Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, and JR Motorsports. But, this year's stop is a special treat for the riders: "We're going to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, where we're going to take a hard-hat tour. This is pretty cool for a lot of people because they'll get an inside view of the Hall of Fame almost before it's built. They'll get an understanding of what the Hall of Fame is all about."
Petty's father and grandfather, Richard and Lee Petty, have both been nominated for the 2010 Hall of Fame class. Five recipients will be chosen from 25 nominees.
Another distinction of this year's Ride to Victory is its subtitle, "A Tribute to Click Baldwin." Mr. Baldwin, a long-time supporter of Victory Junction and member of the Kyle Petty Charity Ride Board of Directors, lost his life in a motorcycle accident in Montana in 2008. "Click was a part of the Charity Ride from the very beginning and a great friend of mine," Kyle said. "He and I rode motorcycles cross-country for the last 25 years. So, that adds a little bit of a twist to this year's ride."
Petty explained that the one-day ride raises money through participant fees, as well as through the support of corporate sponsors like Coca-Cola. "The riders pay $45 a piece to ride. Obviously, because of Adam, 45 is the number we use for almost everything."
Adam Petty, Kyle's son, was an up-and-coming racer who drove the No. 45 car throughout his young career. After he died in a racing accident in 2000, Kyle and wife Pattie built the Victory Junction camp to honor Adam's dream of helping children with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses.
Petty estimates this year's Ride to Victory will include 200-300 participants and will raise enough money to send approximately eight to ten children to camp. All expenses are paid for the campers and more than 11,000 children and families have been served since opening in 2004.
With the cost of sending a child to camp valued at $2,500, Victory Junction is always grateful for financial donations. But Petty is quick to note that there are many other ways for supporters to help:
"I always tell people that while money is important, it's not the end-all. If you can't do anything else, say a prayer for us, because that's huge. We need volunteers, even if it's just an hour or two hours. You can call some of your friends and just tell them about camp. We started a program where you can call up and say, 'Hey, I'd be willing to make a hundred phone calls,' and we'll send you some names and you can call about camp for us.
"There are lots of ways to help, from making teddy bears to quilts, to making blankets for the kids -- to just saying a prayer."
Please visit www.VictoryJunction.org
to learn more.
Follow Rebecca on Twitter: @nscrwriter
You can contact Rebecca at.. Insider Racing News
You Can Read Other Articles By Rebecca
The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.
