NASCAR Winner Kyle Petty Still Riding for Victory Junction Camp

• The annual Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America begins its 26th edition April 30 in Phoenix.

• This year’s Ride will cover 1,500 miles in seven days, six of them actual travel days in Arizona and Utah.

• The most recent Ride generated $1.7 million and sent 128 children to camp.

After a frustrating two-year interruption brought about by the Coronavirus pandemic, the annual Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America begins its 26th edition April 30 in Phoenix. The annual motorcycle ride serves as a major fund-raiser for the Petty family’s Victory Junction Gang Camp near Randleman, N.C.

The upcoming KPCR is a somewhat abbreviated version of what was once a challenging endurance test. The first one in 1995 was truly “across America.” A group of perhaps 35 bikers began in Santa Clara, Cal. and rode across eight states, ending a week later near Charlotte, N.C. As many as 50 others joined up and dropped off along the way, but most in the core group of 35 (Editor note: Including Autoweek senior motorsports writer Al Pearce) were still there at the end of the grueling week.

Since then, other rides have started in California, Texas, Oregon, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Washington state, and upstate New York. They have ended in North Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Texas, Arizona, Missouri, Mississippi, and Wisconsin. Ride organizers often speak of going through – even if only briefly – all 48 of the lower states. Close, but not quite right: the Ride has gone through 46 of the 48, missing only Rhode Island and Delaware. (And there is uncertainty about Connecticut).

The most recent ride in 2019 was its longest. It began in Seattle, worked its way southward to New Mexico, turned eastward and crossed the southwest and Deep South en route to the west coast of Florida. By the time it ended in Key Largo, Fl. nine days after leaving Seattle, nobody associated with the Ride imagined it would be more than two years before they gathered again.

As usual, former racer and current NASCAR TV commentator Kyle Petty will lead the caravan. Retired Cup Series drivers Richard Petty, Harry Gant, Donnie Allison, and Ken Schrader will be along for at least part of the time. NASCAR Hall of Fame candidate and Arizona native Hershel McGriff likely will make an appearance, but at 94 it’s unlikely he’ll do the whole ride as he has in the recent past. Current Cup Series driver Erik Jones, fresh off his strong run at Talladega, will ride a day or two before heading back for the May 8 race at Darlington.

It was a difficult but sensible call to postpone the 2000 and 2001 Rides when COVID-19 became an issue. “Nearly three years in the making, I’m beyond thrilled to finally get our riders back together for Arizona and Utah,” Kyle Petty, 61, said in a statement. “This Ride is all about stopping to see some of the beautiful places we’ve ridden by in the past, mixed with a few new places for our riders to explore. Together, we’ll create memories to last a lifetime… and it’s all for the kids at Victory Junction.”

This Year's Ride

This year’s Ride will cover only 1,500 miles in seven days, six of them actual travel days in Arizona and Utah. The 200-plus so riders and two dozen support personnel will leave Phoenix on Saturday, April 30 and make a lap around Phoenix Raceway before going to the first overnight in Lake Havasu, Arizona. Day 2 will be a fairly short Sunday ride to Flagstaff, Az., followed by a similarly short ride on Monday from Flagstaff to Bryce Canyon City, Utah. Riders will overnight there and have a “lay-around free day” for local day trips on Tuesday, May 3.

They’ll resume riding on Wednesday, May 4, going from Bryce Canyon City to nearby Monument Valley, Utah for another overnight. The Ride stays in Sedona on Thursday night, May 5 before ending up back in Phoenix on Friday night, May 6.

The trip will include Route 66, visiting Grand Canyon National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park and Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. The “free day” on May 3 in Bryce Canyon City allows riders to wander around on their own and see local attractions like the Grand Staircase and Humphries Peak.

The previous 25 Rides have generated funds to allow more than 8,200 children to attend Victory Junction Camp at no cost to their families. The most recent Ride generated $1.7 million and sent 128 children to camp. The Ride has been the camp’s primary beneficiary since the Petty family created it 2004 in honor of the late Adam Petty, Kyle’s son, Richard’s grandson and Lee’s great-grandson. The fourth-generation racer was killed during an Xfinity Series practice session at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Mother’s Day weekend of 2000.