Adam Petty Dies

NASCAR star Adam Petty died today at the track. My condolences to the Petty family. Any details on the web?

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Bigwig, you know, from Watership Down.

RIP

More details at www.cnn.com

Link www.cnnsi.com

RIP

I can only imagine the grief the Petty family is going through.

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Adam Petty, the fourth-generation driver of NASCAR's most famous family, died after a crash today during practice at New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon.

The 19-year-old driver was taken to Concord Hospital, where he died of head trauma, spokeswoman Jennifer Dearborn said.

Petty crashed during practice for today's qualifying race in the Busch Grand National series.

Petty is the grandson of seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty and the son of Kyle Petty, a regular on the Winston Cup circuit. Adam's great grandfather was Lee Petty, one of the pioneers of NASCAR.

Drivers were qualifying today for the Busch 200, to be contested Saturday on the 1.058-mile oval.

It's very sad that such a young man was killed in a such serious business, before he really had a chance to experience life. The Petty family must be devastated. My condolences to them.

damn

Just when I thought it was almost impossible to die in NASCAR. I didn't know the guy, but I feel sorry for him, his young life and his family.

I just saw the news of the crash on espn's site. very sad

Didn't Joe Nemecheck's brother die the same way? It's seems like your safe flipping 20 times at 200MPH in a NASCAR ride, but it kills you if you hit the wall at just the right angle.

Again, my condolences to the family.

I can't believe this could happen at a track like Loudon. What a terrible shame.

Very sad indeed...

What a tragedy to lose such a fine young individual who was destined to become a star. There was no doubt in my mind that he would have been a future Cup champion. He was one of the youngest drivers to ever win in the ARCA series. This has to really be tough for the Petty family especially after losing Lee not too long ago.

Drivers who were behind Adam when he crashed believe that his throttle stuck wide open. Loudon only sees speeds in the 150mph range going into the corners. This isn't a dangerous track but if your throttle sticks and you hit a ton at just the right angle, this can happen. I seen Joe Nemecheck get killed in the NCTS race at a speed of around 125mph. My heart goes out to the whole Petty family.

Hopefully some studies will be conducted to improve the car's safety in these sorts of impacts, as was done for the 200 MPH cartwheels on the superspeedways.

Condolences to the Petty family, another prominent NASCAR family to suffer multiple tragedies in a short period of time, as was also the case with the Allisons.

He's the same age as me. I'm just starting out in life. If you'd asked me yesterday I'd have been jealous of him.

Motorsport is dangerous, not that it ever makes events like this less tragic.

If there are safety lessons to be learnt from this I'm sure NASCAR will.

[This message has been edited by Dudley (edited 05-12-2000).]

Heard the bad news on Speedvision just minutes ago.

Many thoughts but few words to articulate them.

All I can offer is condolences to the Petty family.

Horrible news My condolences to the Petty family and all of Adam's fans.

How absolutely terrible. He was such a wonderful young man.

As a NASCAR fan for nearly since 1985, and a Petty fan that same time (Richard is my all-time favorite driver) this really hit me pretty hard.

I feel sad for Adam to a degree, and how there was so much in life he didn't get to experience, and how since he's only a year younger than me...he was the young driver who was going to help kindle my interest in NASCAR for probably the next 30 years. But now...there's no young driver I really like in any motorsports now except Sarah Fisher. Adam is unfortunately past tense. And even more so, the existence of Petty in NASCAR is coming to a close, which is what is hitting me harder for some reason.

He was definitely a Petty, I got to meet him in 1998 at Hawkeye Downs here in Cedar Rapids when he raced in ASA. Real friendly, always had that smile the whole time, and the line of fans to meet him (the ASA has the pre-race on track deal where you get to see the cars up close, get autographs, talk to the drivers, etc) was just huge. I mean, it was like local favorite Johnny Spaw might as well not have even been there. And other established ASA drivers like Gary St. Amant just couldn't compete interest wise with rookie Adam Petty!!

I'm deeply saddened because I know that this signals the end of Petty Enterprises probably. Soon anyway...Kyle isn't into as much as he once was. The death of his son...I don't foresee Kyle continuing in NASCAR because he doesn't seem to be enjoying it much anymore. He's so tied up with the business aspect, and he doesn't really like the highly commercialized NASCAR either. He liked it best in the late 80's and early 90's I think when it was becoming somewhat popular, but wasn't what it is now. He tries to do it all with a smile on his face still, and still is a friendly guy, but you can just tell. Kyle is the one in charge of daily operations at Petty Enterprises. If Kyle retires, is he really going to keep the team open just so John Andretti can race a Cup car and Steve Grisson a truck? I doubt it. Kyle will be the last Petty to race in NASCAR. There's always been one, but not anymore. Austin, Kyle's second son, wants to go into the Air Force. I'm unaware of any motorsports activity that Montgomery is involved in and the death of their brother isn't going to endear them to something neither seemed inclined to do anyway. Adam truly loved racing.

I'm going to miss Adam a lot and always wonder about the continued glory of the Petty name. The Petty era in NASCAR will end now, and for me, as a Petty fan before a NASCAR fan, it takes a lot out of me. For some reason I just don't have the enthusiasm for Casey Atwood, even though he's a fine young man with a lot of talent. None of the drivers in the series interest me enough except Kyle and whoever is driving the 43 at the time. I liked Andretti before, and will continue to, but...just like I did with Wally Dallenbach and Rick Wilson.

Indy is coming up, and I've thought of this for the past two months about Sarah Fisher getting permanently injured or killed. I like some of the F1 drivers as you know, but not like how I liked the Pettys or how I now like Sarah Fisher. Adam Petty's death breaks my heart, but if anything were to happen to Sarah now...

I have this problem with hockey too. All my favorite players are players that were with the San Jose Sharks in their first season or were drafted by the Sharks early on, like Pat Falloon, Mike Rathje, Sandis Ozolinsh, Ray Whitney, Viktor Kozlov, etc. Most of you don't know who they are, and that's fine, but, I've found myself noticing how there's only one player on my favorite team (the Sharks) that I really really like, and that's Rathje. And I've caught myself wondering, what would happen to me and the Sharks if Rathje was ever traded. And he will retire, as will my other favorites. But I'm not really a big fan of any of the other youngsters (maybe because I'm a 20 year old aspiring hockey player who's competing with them, but...) It's kind of weird though. It's kind of strange I guess that a 19 year female driver from Indiana has captured my interest so much.

I took Adam for granted. I always assumed there'd be Petty's. I have dreaded the day I woke up to reading in the paper on now on the net that Richard died, but this is much sadder than even that, because Richard has led a full life, while Adam would have been the perfect Petty successor, and I think a great representative of the sport. He was just so smiley and friendly. I mean, Jeff Gordon, Little E, Matt Kenseth, and all those guys are great younger drivers who a good reps and highly likeable drivers, but, it won't be the same without a Petty.

We miss you Adam. Thanks for the memories you already had given us in such a short time.

Rest In Peace Adam Petty.

My condolences to his family. My heart goes out especially to Kyle, he must be hurting so much right now.



[This message has been edited by Mat (edited 05-13-2000).]

Well said Pacific. I don't think the magnitude of this tragedy has really sunk in yet. I had a bad feeling about this motorsports season from the get go and I only hope that the racing gods are now satisified. With an outstanding young man and racing talent, they should be.

When someone dies it is always easy to overstate a driver's talent and make them out to be a saint but Adam was a bright shining star that had a radiant personality. You just never seen him without a smile on his face. I have no doubts that he would have went on to be a champion in Winston Cup someday, he had tremendous talent at such a young age. I remember seeing an interview with Richard's wife (Adam's grandmother) where she said that she thought Adam had the disposition of Lee Petty and that he would be a much better driver than Kyle someday. Richard thought so too. Hell, Adam outqualifed Kyle for the Texas race and dad was sent dad home packing. This was just his first Winston Cup start.

BTW Pacific, you would have enjoyed living in my hometown of Kansas City the past ten years. Adam's first major win was in an ASA race here at I-70 speedway. Also you would have been pleased to watch Rathje, Kozlov, Ozolinsh and Whitney while they played for out IHL team the Kansas City Blades.

RIP

Horrible news. I feel terrible. Rest in peace, Adam.

Mary

Nineteen, and a prince (heir to the King). He had shown great promise, alas, not to be.

I hold little regard for NASCAR as a sanctioning body, but I give full respect to it's drivers, and the hard work of the race teams.

This is a disheartening circumstance which unfortunately despite the great strides made in safety, could strike any racing series at any time.

I can not grasp the feelings and sorrow which must currently envelop the Petty family. The only solice is that old racing axiom, 'he met his fate doing what he loved...if he had to go, he certainly wouldn't have desired to depart any differently...' In addition, the race will go on; which by the way, is the only way to properly honor him. I offer the family my thoughts and compassion that their pain will soon be replaced by favored memories.

PACIFIC, we've locked horns in the past, but I offer you my thoughts as well. When an enthusiasts favored driver is so tragically taken, I know how cold, black and empty the feelings are which prevail when watching the continuing events. Like the series itself, the patrons MUST carry on.

Though I don't share your appraisal of Sarah Fisher, again I respect the dangers she and all racing drivers face each time they take to the track. Indeed, it is ironic how the underlying and 'unspoken' thrill created by what these drivers are cheating can also be the very thing which makes the sport it's most undesirable when the ultimate price of this thrill is fully realized.

Celibrating the life of Adam Petty,
-Jonathan Spangler, 'Jac Man'.

[This message has been edited by Jac Man (edited 05-13-2000).]

I've argued with damn near everyone here, so, don't worry about it Jac Man.

When Scott Brayton died, who was my favorite CART driver and of course IRL driver at the time, it was real sad, cause Scott looked poise to win for a change and I knew that the Sadler Racing team had signed him to run at the Brickyard in their car for the NASCAR race, which was cool. But Scott was older you know, and there's just so much more that goes into this with the name Petty for NASCAR fans. Hopefully some young driver kind of catches my attention in NASCAR. Like I said, there are many rising young stars in NASCAR, but I just don't have a real connection with them. I mean, both times Little E has one this year I had a wide smile on my face, because it's kind of neat to have another Dale Earnhardt. I used to hate the other one, because he won so damn much I respect Dale Earnhardt Sr. though for his abilities and the person. And I get a kick out of all the commercials Jeff Gordon does, some of them are hilarious. But from when I started I always rooted on Richard Petty, he never won when I watched. When I saw him finish second at the Valleydale Meats 500 to Dale Earnhardt in 1987...they were so close. I really wanted Dale to spin so bad. (That race had a ton of crashes.) That 1987 season was a good season for Richard and goes down as my personal favorite season for NASCAR. I still love watching the races from the 1980's on ESPN Classic because it was such a big part of my life then, NASCAR was. Still is, but, when you're 6 and all, it's just so cool. Now I can watch the races in a little different way you know? Tomorrow I'm going to get to watch a marathon of old NASCAR races, and I'll tape all of them. That Firecracker 400 race is going to be really neat to see.

As for Sarah Fisher, I don't expect many to have much enthusiasm for a young IRL driver, especially anybody who isn't from the USA. But for me, she's so unique. She appears to have some talent, nothing like Jenson Button obviously, but still, if she can have some success, some wins...I think it would be great for the IRL and open wheel racing in the USA in general if somebody really unique like Sarah Fisher won a race. The IRL has some good drivers in it now, can you imagine what would happen if she won Indy competing against Montoya, Vasser, and Unser Jr along with 29 other IRL cars and drivers? Montoya is the real deal, beating him no matter what your standard is is a big deal. We know Juan is a top driver in the world. He's proven that I think.

NASCAR is such a family affair with so many brothers, fathers, sons, as driver, mechanics, etc...I mean, it'd be equally tragic if Little E was killed too I bet. I mean, the name Earnhardt has a lot of clout in NASCAR, it may be the new dynasty name. I mean, Ralph was a good driver, Dale, well, he's one of the greats, and Little E already is looking damn good. But I'm a Petty fan, although maybe Little E has some appeal now on retrospect.

Adam Petty: Shine On You Crazy Diamond

The RPM 2nite stuff on him was pretty good, that's the first one I've watched in a long time.

Pacific

Why do you ramble on about Sarah Fisher on this thread? It's about expressing your feelings regarding the passing of Adam Petty and things related to it.

As mentioned earlier in this thread, I too have concerns about NASCAR's ability to set adequate safety standards. Has anyone seen how close the steering wheels are to the driver in these cars? It's just inches away from their chest.

I know drivers have gone through huge accidents and lived to tell about it. However, I don't get the feeling that they are very proactive in the safety arena.

Thank you.

Sudsbouy I have to address some of your comments:

1) "Has anyone seen how close the steering wheels are to the driver in these cars? It's just inches away from their chest."

Having the steering wheel that close to their chest also limits the amount of area that a driver can be thrown against it. The farther back the driver is from the steering the harder they will hit it in a crash.

2) "I don't get the feeling that they (NASCAR) are very proactice in the safety arena."

Get real! NASCAR has done more in the area of safety than any major motorsports series. Roof flaps, restrictor plates that prevent the cars from going 225-235mph at Talladega, roll cages that are built with a staggered design to disfuse energy of a impact away from the driver, window nets, plus a safety strap that helps prevent a driver's head from hitting the b-pillar. Adam's death is believed to be a misfortunate sticking of his throttle. If this happened in any other type of car, I am sure that the driver would have been killed instaneoulsy on impact instead of at the hospital. If CART, F1 and the IRL all raced 26-34 races a year like NASCAR Winston Cup, Busch Grand National and the Craftsman Truck Series does then we would see which form of motorsport is the safest. There is always something that can be learned from a crash that kills a driver but there isn't anything that could dramatically make NASCAR safer unless they started racing in tanks. Loudon is a one mile track that only sees speeds of 150mph. It is not considered a dangerous track by any means but you can get killed at 100mph just as easily as 200mph if you hit at the wrong angle.

[This message has been edited by Tony the Tiger (edited 05-13-2000).]

RIP

Tony...

Do you understand the concept that the closer it is, the more likely you are to hit it. If your vehicle crashes at high Gs, there isn't a significant difference in the speed you'll hit that steering wheel between 6" and 12". You're just much more likely to hit it with only 6" of clearance and it will do more damage (your belts are retarding your acceleration as you move forward). I don't know of another series (non-stock car) where chest injuries like Ernhart's occur.

If I look at Petty's accident, the contact point was away from the driver. If there's junk in the car that he can hit with his head in this situation, I can't say much for NASCAR's rules. Looking at other series (e.g. CART or F1), the driver would have survived. There have been enough accidents to corroborate this fact.

Thank you.

RIP Adam...I guess it was his time to die.

For some strange reason, whenever a race driver dies, I start to feel 'guilty' ?? enjoying watching this sport so much. I felt the same way when Greg Moore passed on last fall.

My sincere condolences to the Petty family.



[This message has been edited by Nigel (edited 05-14-2000).]

When do we see an F1 or CART car hit head on at 150 mph?

I don't think it was anything to do with the car besides the throttle sticking. We saw it happen to Kenny Wallace at Martinsville, but you're not going as fast at Martinsville. It's one of those things unfortunately.

I remember a wreck at the Daytona race in the summer of '93 I believe when Jimmy Horton went flipping out of the track. Well, odd thing is, Stan Smith is the one who was seriously injured because hit the wall head on too when he got tapped and then took a dreaded right hand turn at Daytona. Horton walked away.

Of course, in a NASCAR, flipping never hurts a driver, it's how you land. Like when Elliott got airborn once landed on the side of the car sort of and broke his hip. Or when Darrell Waltrip and Joe Ruttman got together in 1991 in the Daytona summer race. Waltrip went flipping, but Ruttman ramped an access road and in retrospect probably had a minor concussion along with other injuries. But Darrell wasn't too bad off.

I don't know if Adam's head hit the wheel or if just the sheer impact created a subdural hematoma so bad that he died. He died of head trauma at the hospital, so, with his helmet, I doubt it was any contact his head made with anything, just the power of the hit was so hard the the brain was damaged enough when it hit the inside of his skull. It's the same thing as a concussion, only concussion usually involves brusing, not hemorrages. Shinji Nakano had several of these small bruises on the brain when he crashed in testing at Milwaukee.

We can what if all we want, but it's not going to bring my favorite young NASCAR driver back. And the reason I bring up Fisher is because Petty's death just increases the worries I have for my other favorite driver. Indy is dangerous, Gregor Foitek thought it was ridiculous and told A.J. Foyt forget it after he first went there. Indy had a similar strange accident in '93? When Jovy Marcelo died in what seemed a rather tame accident, but...If you have a throttle stick at Indy, I imagine the least that would happen to you is shattering of your legs. Your career would be over, and I'd rather die than live the rest of my life in a wheelchair. My life revolves around hockey, weightlifting, sports. Not being able to play them would take away all meaning to my life. I mean, maybe when I'm 80 or so, and can't play hockey anymore, but damn it, I'm going to play as long as possible. Having it taken away from me at say in my 20's, well...it's actually probably as sad when I heard former San Jose Shark Jaroslav Otevrel was paralyzed in a game playing in his native Czech Republic. I have Otevrel's first NHL game on tape, and to go from being a vibrant young athlete to not being able to do anything is far worse than dying if you ask me.

When I saw RPM's coverage of Adam Petty, I didn't cry, I smiled remembering him and seeing Adam with his big smile all the time. He was a great kid before he was a great driver. In fact, his actual skill was inconsistent and didn't impress me too much. He seemed to do okay in his Cup debut of course, but, I still liked him because he was a Petty and very friendly, like all Richard and Kyle before him. I don't know Lee so well. Not on a personal level. Lee was always past tense when I started watching Winston Cup. It wasn't like he was still doing work in the shop like in the 60's after his bad accident that realistically ended his career. Adam didn't have the natural talent as say fellow NBS driver Casey Atwood, but over time, he probably could have become a decent Cup driver. Probably a lot like Kyle Petty. A few wins here and there. I didn't foresee Adam as a future star like Dale Earnhardt Jr. Adam wrecked too often and got involved in crashes a lot. I suppose one could point out Jeff Gordon had some big crashes early on, but still...Adam was struggling so far this season in NBS and was beaten handily for Rookie of the Year in NBS and I doubt machinery was a problem. But the fact I didn't feel he was going to be a future great didn't stop me from being a huge fan.

And I'm sorry if I have fears for my other favorite drivers and state them. Some of you had your favorites die in Gilles Villeneuve or Ayrton Senna, mine are Adam Petty and Scott Brayton. Sorry.

If you want to send condolences to the Petty family you can at....Email adress..... adamcondolences@cybertrack.com.....or www.pettyracing.com. THANK YOU.

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"Speed cost money, how fast do you want to go?"

Sudsbouy, also the farther away from the steering the harder you will hit it. No open wheel driver would survive a head on collision with a wall like that due to a throttle sticking. It would have been gruesome in an open wheel car.

Pacific, Scott Brayton was one of my favorites too.

A day late, a dollar short - business as usual for me.

I didn't realise he was so young!

Head on is always the most dangerous form of impact type car racing... And concrete oval walls only help in disspating contact energy when you hit them under an angle.

Although in open cocpit racing (thanks to better off-track protection, tyres, gravel, etc) the most dangerous impact comes from flipping over and the drivers head hitting something (Moore, Krosnoff, Rodriguez, Campos... and almost Diniz and Carpentier)

... it's always sad, but to quote Ratzenberger's father: "He died while doing what he loved most and what he always wanted to do."

[This message has been edited by Laphroaig (edited 05-15-2000).]

If you go into the wall backwards, especially in an open wheel car, thats the worst incident there is because your head doesnt have any decceleration time. It immediately impacts the head rest.

I wonder how many of you could have picked Adam Petty out of a group photo this weekend.

Ross Stonefeld
Aztec Group Motorsport

Originally posted by Ross Stonefeld:
I wonder how many of you could have picked Adam Petty out of a group photo this weekend.

What does that have to do with anything? Only if you knew what he looked like, can you mourn his loss?

Perhaps im a bit cynical but I think a lot of this is because he's a Petty. Any other driver with the same CV of race results (or lack thereof) would be getting quite different coverage. I see a lot of "fakeness" from some people who dont even follow NASCAR, or now who Adam Petty is, etc. It just boggles my mind that someone can mourn or even be affected by something they really arent involved in. Sure its racing, but if Hakkinen or Schumacher died sure id say "damn that sucks" but It wouldnt upset me. It certainly wasnt a good thing that Moore and Rodriguez died in CART last year, but it really didnt have any measureable impact on my life.

Ross Stonefeld
Aztec Group Motorsport

Ross, than it would probably be easiest to summize that you are not like everyone else.

Thank you kind sir

Ross Stonefeld
Aztec Group Motorsport

Anytime a race driver dies, it is unfortunate, and no one wants to see it happen. So Ross, I can say this, as a big fan of F1, if ANY driver died this year, I would be shocked and it would affect me, because I follow them all. It may be possible, since there are only 22, plus some well known subs, or test drivers.

I agree with your statement, that this is a special situation because he was a "Petty". The media wouldn't have taken notice (in comparison) if he were an "unknown". It may be also because there are about 40 drivers in NASCAR that most of them go unnoticed compared to the drivers in F1.

I think the users on this board are sincere and sympathize when the racing community is affected. I am not personnaly affected by Adam Petty's death, but it is most unfortunate in NASCAR's premiere racing family. Knowing how important they are to NASCAR and their fans, I offer condolances in recognition of the loss. It's considerate and respectful, but I am unhurt.

[This message has been edited by John (edited 05-15-2000).]