#45-Kyle Petty said Tuesday afternoon that he and his wife, Pattie, are determined to build a camp that would help seriously ill children in the Midwest and that the Kansas City area is the preferred site for the facility. We told some people that it’s not if we build, it’s a matter of when we build here, Petty said. In 2004, the Pettys founded the Victory Junction Gang Camp in Randleman, N.C. The intent was to build a facility that would bring happiness into the lives of chronically ill children by providing them, free of charge, with a camp that features everything from horseback riding to bowling. The Pettys’ impetus for founding the race-themed camp was the death of their son, Adam, during a NASCAR test session [at New Hampshire in 2000]. Richard Petty handed 75 acres of wooded land to Kyle and Pattie, and private donors stepped up with financial help. The camp, which features 42 modern wheelchair accessible buildings and a seven-acre lake, plays host to up to 125 children in each of its weeklong summer sessions. It also is host to family weekends. Pattie Petty said that the North Carolina camp is now operating at capacity. She said that prompted a look into a second camp. Petty was scheduled to meet with civic and corporate representatives Tuesday night for another presentation on the project. He said that before anything becomes definite, all involved must be confident of the long-term sustainability of the project. Petty said if details are worked out, the camp could open in 2009 or 2010.(Kansas City Star), Kyle and Pattie were also recently named WebMD Health Heroes.(11-28-2007) UPDATE: Ryan Cooper, the Lake Mary [FL] firefighter who ran into two burning homes last July after a plane belonging to NASCAR crashed into a Sanford neighborhood. Cooper helped to rescue several victims including a 10 year old boy. He also provided first aid to victims until the first fire units arrived. It was a tragedy that changed his life forever. Now that tragedy will help Cooper change the lives of thousands of deserving children every year. Cooper has been asked by NASCAR driver Kyle Petty to head a new branch of the Victory Junction Gang Camp set to open near Kansas City by 2010.(MyFoxOrlando)(11-29-2007)
