| | Associated Press
DOVER, Del. -- Kyle Petty sat at the front of room, his head slumped, his voice breaking. He wiped his eyes from behind dark glasses.
Exactly three weeks ago, his son was killed in a car crash, jolting racing's most famous family. Now the father was back at the track, drawing solace from the surroundings he knows best.
|  | | Kyle Petty will drive his son's Busch car and his own Winston Cup car this weekend. |
"I've been totally devastated by this, and the only way for me is to go back and do this," Petty said Friday in his first public appearance since 19-year-old Adam Petty died. "I haven't been back in the car, so I'm looking forward to it to see if it takes my mind off it."
Five years ago, Kyle Petty won at Dover in the MBNA Platinum
400. He was scheduled to pull double duty this weekend, driving his own Winston
Cup car on Sunday and Adam's Busch car on Saturday.
But prior to finishing 26th in Adam's Busch car in the MBNA Platinum 200, Petty failed to qualify for Sunday's Winston Cup race. Petty could manage only 154.593 mph, and without any provisionals, failed to make the field on speed. Jerry Nadeau's speed of 155.233 was the slowest to make the field.
"We sat down with the (Busch) crew and asked if they wanted to continue
to race," said Petty. "They all wanted to continue, but didn't want to see anybody
else in the car other than me."
Racing will be the easiest part.
"Just because something bad happens, doesn't mean you quit,"
he said. "As much as Adam loved racing he wouldn't stop, so we
won't. This is what I do. This is what we've done as a family."
Adam was one of Kyle's three children, the first fourth-generation NASCAR driver. He was killed May 12 while practicing his Busch Grand National car at New Hampshire International Speedway.
Kyle Petty decided he needed to come to Dover Downs International Speedway. Staying at home simply was too difficult. The cars and crews and sounds of the track offered the prospect of comfort.
"This is the furthest I've been from home in two weeks," he said.
Petty, wearing a blue denim shirt, his hair pulled back in a pony tail, fought back tears at his news conference. His wife, Patti, was a few feet away, anguish lining her face.
Kyle Petty turned 40 on Friday, a birthday with the trappings of
a wake.
After the accident in New Hampshire, Petty stayed away from the
track, skipping NASCAR's annual all-star race and the Coca-Cola
600. He wasn't ready to go public with his grief.
Now, at Dover, he was willing to try.
"Driving up Thursday night was the toughest part," he said.
"Adam would kick my butt if he knew we didn't go to Charlotte.
Adam was going to drive the Busch and Winston Cup races last week.
And I just couldn't bring myself to race at Charlotte."
Kyle is the son of NASCAR great Richard Petty and grandson of
Lee Petty, who won the first Daytona 500 in 1959. Lee died at 86,
three days after Adam made his Winston Cup debut in Fort Worth,
Texas, on April 2.
Kyle said his son's death and the outpouring of sympathy made him
understand how important racing is to so many people.
"I didn't realize how many lives we touch," he said. "The
fans become part of your family."
Petty is not certain if he will drive Adam's Busch car for the
rest of the season. He'll decide week by week.
"I don't know if driving is the best way to cope," he said.
"But it's the only way I know."
Pictures of Adam Petty are not hard to find these days wherever
stock cars are run. Kyle Petty says he can deal with all the
reminders, because he has the best picture of all.
"He is still so fresh in my mind and in my heart that I can
look out across the racetrack and see him," he said. "So I don't
need a photograph."
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AUDIO/VIDEO
 Kyle Petty tries to hold back his emotions to talk about Adam's love for race cars.
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Kyle Petty says Adam was his best friend.
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Kyle Petty knows that Adam wouldn't want the Petty family to stop racing.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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