Kyle at New Hampshire? UPDATE 5 Will Race: Kyle Petty has not decided if he or the #45 Sprint team will race at the New Hampshire race on July 22nd(CNN/SI-NASCAR Plus TV Show)(6-25-2001) UPDATE: Winston Cup driver Kyle Petty, whose oldest son, Adam, was killed in a Grand National series practice session wreck last May at New Hampshire International Speedway, remains unsure whether he will compete in the Winston Cup race at the track next weekend. Tuesday would have been Adam’s 21st birthday. Petty skipped both Winston Cup races at the track last season. “Right now I’m considering Chicago, and when I’m done with Chicago I’ll see about next week. This week has been a hard week because of Adam’s birthday. … There have been so many things this week that have brought back so many memories,” Petty said. “I couldn’t bring myself to go back last year and it’s kind of crept up on me this year. I’ll wait until the first of the week to see where I’m at. Everybody at Petty Enterprises, they know what my position is. They stand behind the whole program.”(That’s Racin’)(7-13-2001) UPDATE: Kyle Petty says he’ll announce a decision in a few days on if he’ll compete at New Hampshire International Speedway next weekend for the first time since his son, Adam, died in a crash there May 12, 2000. Petty said that the team’s crew members also have the option of not going. If Petty does not, Steve Grissom will drive for him. Grissom is the team’s test driver and also works as an adviser for Carlos Contreras, who drives for the Petty Enterprises truck series team. The trucks also will race at New Hampshire next weekend, so Grissom already was scheduled to be there(RacingExtra)(7-14-2001) UPDATE 2: CNN/SI’s NASCAR Plus reported tonight that Kyle Petty will run at New Hampshire in a black car with some Sprint decals and the #45 on the car. None of Kyle’s family will be at the track(7-16-2001) UPDATE 3: sources tell me that contrary to the CNN/SI report, Petty has not made up his mind regarding New Hampshire. As of this morning, he just was not sure. He said it could be as late as Friday morning before he makes a decision(7-17-2001) UPDATE 4: FSN’s Totally NASCAR show on Thurs reports that Kyle Petty is expected ro run at NHIS with Steve Grissom standing by(7-19-2001) UPDATE 5: A Statement From Kyle Petty: This is going to be a pretty tough week for our family, the 45 team and for everyone at Petty Enterprises. We.re anxious to race and we.re anxious to do well but we are in New Hampshire with mixed emotions. Bob and Gary Bahre are the greatest people in the world. We feel as badly for them as we do anyone. The fans in New England are fantastic and are some of our favorite people. It.s hard to find better and more dedicated fans anywhere. The Bahres and the fans up here are a large part of the reason we.re racing this weekend. But we have one more very big reason. Adam would want me and the 45 team to come here and race. As a tribute to Adam, we’ve repainted his race car. We wanted to do something special. We wanted an on-track memorial to him and to those who love him. This isn’t a Sprint car or a Petty Enterprises car or anything like that. For this weekend, this is an Adam car. I want this car to speak for itself. Adam’s car and this statement will be all we have to say this weekend. Pattie and I, my mother and father, our entire family and the members of the 45 team would just rather not do any interviews at all this weekend, and we appreciate the media.s understanding. The guys at the #43 and #44 have said they would be glad to talk about their race cars but they, too, want to join us in honoring Adam by letting the race car speak for itself. I love Adam, we all love Adam, and miss him terribly. Thank you for letting us come back to New Hampshire with such an understanding and loving manner.(Williams Company PR)(7-20-2001)
