Kyle Petty and the #45 MyCokeRewards Dodge finished 22nd in the Nextel Open. At the conclusion of the race Petty was announced as the winner of the Nextel Fan Vote. Petty was then awarded the opportunity to race in the Nextel All-Star Challenge. Comments from Petty after he learned of the fan vote: “I think this is big, but I think it’s big for the Victory Junction Gang Camp. We just appreciate all the fans that voted. I really hope they know how much they have helped touch the lives of the children that will be affected by this. Coca-Cola and our other partners, Wells Fargo, Schwan’s and Tire Kingdom have really supported this program. I think this really shows how much people really care about the camp and the kids. I really believe the fans were voting for the camp and not for Kyle Petty. That really means a lot. We just really, really, appreciate all the fans that voted.”(Moore Consulting Group)
NOTE: have not seen any voting totals as of yet.(5-20-2006)
UPDATE: As the result of the successful Vote Kyle, Reward Victory Junction campaign, Kyle Petty captured the 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge fan vote and drove the MyCokeRewards #45 Dodge car to an eighth place finish in the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge at Lowe’s Motor Speedway today. Through tremendous support from family, friends, sponsors, NASCAR fans and members of the NASCAR community, Petty earned the wildcard spot in the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge. As a result, Coca-Cola, Schwan’s, Wells Fargo and Tire Kingdom are donating $275,000 to the Victory Junction Gang Camp — a camp for chronically and critically-ill children. Kyle and Petty Enterprises also donated the purse money won in the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge from Petty’s eighth place finish, bringing the total donation to Victory Junction to $398.967. This campaign was all about the kids, said Petty. Coca-Cola, Wells Fargo, Schwan’s and Tire Kingdom developed a great program to honor me and reward Victory Junction at the same time. The money being donated will go towards sending more kids to the camp and continuing our overall mission of serving chronically and critically-ill children. In addition to driving the #45 Dodge’s special MyCokeRewards primary sponsorship paint scheme in the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge, Petty will carry the scheme in the Coca-Cola 600 on May 28. Petty had a strong run in the All-Star Challenge. Petty started 20 th , but the team only had one way to go. Petty’s MyCokeRewards Dodge was handling well and the car was to the liking of Petty. Petty moved up as he stayed patient and cars crashed. Petty’s Dodge was also faster on longer runs. He made passed on Dale Earnhardt Jr. and moved in on Dale Jarrett in the final 20 lap segment. Petty finished a strong 8th.(Moore Consulting Group/Petty Racing PR)
RESULTS: the top vote getters from nascar.com:
1. #45-Kyle Petty 101,966
2. #1-Martin Truex Jr. 50,018
3. #38-Elliott Sadler 38,797
4. #11-Denny Hamlin 18,863
5. #31-Jeff Burton 18,376
6. #7-Robby Gordon 15,401
7. #49-Ken Schrader 10,021
8. #25-Brian Vickers 18,616
9. #07-Clint Bowyer 7,374
10. #42-Casey Mears 7,310
(NASCAR.com)(5-22-2006)
