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Q&A with SI's Mark Bechtel

Petty 'could compete at the highest level'

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Posted: Saturday May 13, 2000 02:22 PM

Adam Petty, left, and dad Kyle were close. George Tiedemann

In the wake of the tragic death of Adam Petty, the fourth-generation driver of NASCAR's most famous family, at New Hampshire International Speedway, CNNSI.com spoke with Sports Illustrated motor sports writer Mark Bechtel. Bechtel reflected on Petty's promise, the blessings and burden that came with his famous name, and what the tragedy will mean for other NASCAR drivers.

CNNSI.com: What kind of driver was Adam Petty?
Mark Bechtel: I know he wasn't having a great year, but racing obviously ran in his blood. He had shown he could compete at the highest level. He ran pretty well at Texas in his Winston Cup debut, and he's been good on the Busch circuit. He was obviously very young. He was a good driver with a lot of potential, a lot of promise.

CNNSI.com: This crash underscores the dangers in racing. Do drivers really understand what can happen?
Bechtel: This is another unfortunate reminder of how dangerous it is. I had lunch with Al Unser Jr. the other day and we were talking about sort of the same thing. We were discussing whether any outside thoughts ever enter inside his head while driving. Or, as I asked, "Are you ever aware how dangerous it is when you're driving?" And he said, "No, I'm a driver -- I don't think about that. You have to be able to completely compartmentalize everything and just focus on the task at hand." And I think something like this will definitely remind a lot of drivers of what they're up against. It's something they have already really learned, that it's all really a part of racing.

I'm guessing it's going to have a big effect on the fans. For the fans it's really too bad because he was such an incredibly nice kid and he had a great future ahead of him. It happened to him, to this young star who seemed destined for greatness, and it just goes to show that it can happen to anybody at any time. Driving around at speeds like that with those concrete walls -- it's no wonder it doesn't happen more often.

CNNSI.com: When other drivers see or hear something like this, how does it affect them?
Bechtel: One thing that I've noticed about NASCAR is how close-knit the whole circuit is. Take Adam, for instance. Obviously his grandfather and dad were at the track every week. It seems like there are 10 families in NASCAR and that's it. Everybody's real close to everyone else and they know what's going on in the other trailers. Where it's going to have a big effect is with the drivers. They're going to be upset, they're going to be sad, they're going to feel bad for themselves and feel bad for Kyle (Petty). It's like they're losing an extended family member.

Analysis & Stories • SI's Mark Bechtel: Petty had great potential  • CNNSI.com's Donovan: Hitting too close to home  • CNNSI.com's Smithson: Lost Generation  • Local Look: He's only 19, remember   SI Flashbacks • A Bittersweet Debut  • Championship Bloodline  Interactive • Reactions: Goodbye, Adam  • 10 Questions: From 2/15/00  Multimedia • Map: New Hampshire International Speedway  • Multimedia Memories: Remembering Adam Petty

Question: Although not on the same level as the Allisons in terms of family tragedies, the Pettys have suffered their fair share.
Bechtel: It just goes to show that it's a very dangerous sport. If enough people in a family do it for a long time, unfortunately something like this will happen. It's really too bad that it did.

I only talked to Adam Petty one time, in Dallas in March, but it really struck me how innocent he was. He was this big, tall, goofy kid who looked like a high school kid out on a Friday night at a football game. He was having the time of his life this year. It's really sad to see something like that happen to someone who was so nice, so innocent and naive. When we talked he said he didn't have a whole lot of friends his age because he grew up in this incredibly famous family. He said his dad was far and away his best friend. In fact, we discussed how Kyle was sort of having a bad year, and Adam said he hoped that his dad wouldn't get down on himself. It sort of sounded as if he was the father and Kyle was the son.

Those two got along so well that it's going to be incredibly, incredibly hard on Kyle, probably harder than having to deal with the death of Lee (Petty), which was also terribly unfortunate. The family has had a couple of bad incidents. Lee got out out of racing when he had a bad wreck. And Richard (Petty) had a terrible wreck that he was able to come back from.

In most cases these guys do walk away from crashes. In this case I'm truly surprised it happened, because stock-car drivers -- I don't know when the last time was when one of them died on the track -- are driving fortresses. Open-wheel guys aren't quite as safe because they're more exposed with the way the car is set up.

 

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