Kyle Petty Charity Ride Made Havasu Home Saturday And Sunday

By Becky Maxedon

Adam Petty, son of NASCAR racing legend Kyle Petty, was just 19 when he was killed instantly following in the family racing footsteps. But his dream lives on with the Kyle Petty Charity Ride.

The Kyle Petty Charity Ride stopped over in Lake Havasu City Saturday and Sunday during its annual fundraising effort for the family’s Victory Junction – a camp geared toward enriching children’s lives.

After visiting Lake Havasu City as a ride location in 2019, the event was postponed because of COVID-19 and finally came to fruition this year, Kyle Petty said in a RiverScene Interview Saturday.

“Two years is a long time to be off since this is the biggest fundraiser for the camp and we needed to get back to it,” Petty said.

He said the Lake Havasu City Hampton Inn had allowed Charity Ride organizers to hold their reservations over during the delays caused by the pandemic, ensuring the event could take place as planned.

Following their stay in Havasu at the Hampton Inn, the more than 100 motorcyclists travelled up Route 66, visiting Oatman and Seligman. Local car and motorcycle clubs donated to the charity during the event.

In addition to Kyle Petty, Richard Petty and NASCAR driver Ken Schrader were on hand to sign autographs.

Kyle Petty Charity Ride Lake Havasu City News RiverScene Magazine

Kyle Petty meets with Lake Havasu City resident, Andre, who is a former Victory Junction camp participant. Jillian Danielson/RiverScene

According to the Kyle Petty Charity Ride website, Victory Junction is a year-round camp that exists to enrich the lives of children, ages 6 to 16, with serious illnesses and chronic medical conditions. The activities and environment provide life-changing camping experiences that are exciting, fun and empowering.

Established in 2004, the camp was built by the Petty family in honor of Adam, who died tragically on the racetrack in 2000.

Kyle and Adam Petty visited Camp Boggy Creek, a year-round camp for seriously ill children in Florida, on a charity motorcycle ride. During his time there, Adam envisioned creating a similar camp in North Carolina.

Today, Adam’s dream lives on, as Victory Junction has provided more than 100,000 camp experiences to campers and their families – through onsite camp programs, virtual online programming, Vic’s Riders equine therapy program, and at participating hospitals and medical facilities through its REACH program.

Children served at Victory Junction are not able to attend normal summer camps because of their unique medical needs, such as cancer, hemophilia, spina bifida and epilepsy. And even though it costs more than $2,500 for one child to attend Victory Junction for a week, no child or family incurs this cost, thanks to the generosity of corporations, organizations and individuals.

Located in Randleman, NC, Victory Junction challenges campers to find resilience by looking beyond their illness – and also provides a safe place to try new things under unobtrusive, complete 24-hour medical supervision. During each session, campers can participate in arts and crafts, archery, swimming, boating, fishing, horseback riding, woodshop, and music and theatre all in a special NASCAR-themed program area.

Victory Junction currently serves as the Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America’s primary beneficiary. Since its inception 27 years ago, the Ride has raised more than $19 million for Victory Junction and other charities that support chronically ill children, helping send 8,210 children to Victory Junction.

To learn more about Victory Junction, please visit VictoryJunction.org.

To view the RiverScene Magazine interview video with Kyle and Richard Petty , go to our YouTube Channel link by clicking here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_MPW1SGJuM

Jillian Danielson/RiverScene

Kyle Petty arrives at the Hampton Inn for a fan Meet and Greet during the KP Charity Ride Saturday afternoon in Lake Havasu City. Jillian Danielson/RiverScene