~Indy Race Park Journal~

Hey Ya'll, Hey, I told ya'll that we had some surprises in store for everyone this past week at Indy. From that "major" announcement on Thursday, that I am sure you have heard about by now, to celebrating Petty's 50th Anniversary in racing and oh yeah I guess I can't forget the actual race(LOL), my weekend was absolutely packed! First off, Friday definitely had its share of highs and lows. We were not real fast in either practice session, but in the past two weeks at both Pikes Peak and St. Louis (where we had our great qualifying runs), we weren't really fast in practice either. Sometimes in this sport you never really know what to expect and to say the least I didn't expect to qualify 45th. Man, I can't tell you how nervous I was while waiting to see if we would make the race. Luckily we are high enough in the points so that we qualified for a provisional starting spot. I knew after our qualifying time that it would probably take a provisional to make the starting field. Although the past weeks have been below our standards as far as our overall performance, it definitely is important that we have been consistent week in and week out as far as the points standings go. After qualifying so well the past couple of weeks, I was pretty disappointed about starting in the rear of the field but to tell you the truth I was just happy to be in the race after a poor qualifying run. As a driver, you have to be able to shake off a poor qualifying run and get ready to start the race. Hey I guess the good thing about starting in the back is that there is nowhere to go but to the front! (LOL) Once the race started, all I could think about was getting the front. I was real lucky for the majority of the race by avoiding wrecks. I had an outstanding car underneath me for the race. Coming from the 42nd starting spot to the Top 10 proved just how well that No.45 Spree Prepaid Foncard Chevy was running. My one wish for this race would have been that it was four laps shorter. I can't tell you the feeling I felt when I knew I had blown an engine with only three laps remaining. Well actually the only thing I felt was slamming into that interior wall. That was probably one of the hardest hits I have ever taken since I have been racing. Luckily my cars are able to withstand hits like that and I am alright except for my ego being bruised a little because I didn't finish the race after a great run. I want to tell Mr. William Tanner, my Spree Honorary Crew Chief from Louisville, KY, just how great it was to meet him and his family. The only person that I can think of who felt as bad as me about hitting the wall while running in the top 10 was Mr. Tanner. My first career BUSCH win could have won Mr. Tanner a cool $1 million thanks to a major promotion from Spree Prepaid foncards from Sprint. Sorry I couldn't make you a millionaire, but hope you got a zillion memories! As far as the race goes I am really proud of what the team accomplished Friday night. We bounced back from our qualifying run and went out and ran a great race. But the race was not the only thing going on in Indy. How about our deal with NIKE!!!! I can't even express what an honor it was to be considered by Nike to become a member of their team, especially when the other drivers they included are Dale Jarrett, Tony Stewart, Bobby Labonte and Al Unser, Jr. Man, talk about some elite company. These are guys I admire and I want to follow the paths they have taken with their careers. The Press Conference Thursday was an absolute dream come true for me. This Nike "swoosh" racing is going to be unbelievable. Nike, as usual, has created some awesome products for my team to start using on race day starting in Daytona next year. These products include sunglasses, watches and special shoes for me wear while driving and for my team to use in the garage and on pit stops. (If these shoes perform as half as good as they look, we are going to be unstoppable in the year 2000!) I really believe with Nike coming into NASCAR it shows how much the sport has grown and it's another big step in the right direction towards even more growth. I think it is the drivers such as my dad, granddad and many others who have made this type of endorsement possible for me. They have helped grow this sport from the beginning and make it so big today. So I guess what I am trying to say is that the next time you need new shoes, there is a brand I strongly suggest. (LOL) Nike has also offered to design my uniform (just like they redesigned the uniform for NFL teams like the Denver Broncos). I am really excited about this great new relationship. I would like to say a special thanks to Kevin Wulff, Mac McDevitt and Tracy Teague for their belief in me!!! You guys are the best!!! I was also excited to be a part of the special 50th Anniversary of Petty Enterprises. As you saw, we ran special paint schemes for the No.43, 44, and 45 cars this weekend honoring this special anniversary. Did you see the pictures of my gold helmet on the web site? I am so proud of that helmet. It is definitely one of the coolest things I have ever owned. If I had to retire tomorrow that helmet would be the prized possession of my career. Thanks to David Smith for his great work on this helmet - awesome!!! This weekend was very special for my family. I am such a small part of all that my family has accomplished in NASCAR and I feel that I am just so lucky to be able to celebrate all that my family has done. Hopefully there will be more great Petty drivers to celebrate when the next 50 years rolls around. Enough about racing though. I just want to say again to everyone how sorry I am about my discussion page still being down. My web guys are definitely doing everything they can to get it back up quickly. I don't really understand all of the details but I have heard and seen that ya'll have been posting on my dad's discussion page at www.kylepetty.net. This site was designed by a great fan of dad's named Joe Williams. We hope to have you all back on my discussion page by late this week. Thanks to Mr. Williams for letting us "park" over on his site for a while!!(LOL) Rhonda tells me that some of ya'll should be starting to get your Fan Club Membership packages. If you haven't got yours yet, be patient - it is coming. With the amazing response to the Fan Club so far, Rhonda has her hands really full right now. I just want to say a big thanks to everyone who has joined so far and I hope you really like what you are getting. Trust me though, there is going to be a lot more cool things about the Fan Club than just the first membership package. I really believe this Fan Club is going to be awesome. Well it is an off weekend this week, which is kind of deceiving because there really are no off weeks in racing. This just gives us more time to set up for Michigan, but hopefully I will find a little down time to hang out. I'll talk to ya'll later and get ready for Michigan because I am ready to get to the front of the field and stay there. God Bless, Adam

Email: lilsqeek14@hotmail.com