Kyle Petty 'amazed, humbled' by continued support for Kyle Petty Charity Ride

Kyle Petty may be entering the 28th year of the Kyle Petty Charity Ride. That doesn't mean he is overlooking how special his opportunity is to provide support for children with challenging medical conditions.

"I keep waiting for somebody to slap me on the ride and say, 'Hey, it's just a joke, man, it's all over,'" Petty told NBC Sports. "Because it's just a ride. All we do is ride motorcycles. I tell people all the time, 'We don't go to the moon. We don't cure cancer. We just ride motorcycles.'

" … It truly amazes me that it just continues and it continues to grow, continues to bring in more money, continues to touch different people."

If not for COVID, 2024 would have marked the 30th anniversary of the Kyle Petty Charity Ride. This would have created a scenario where Petty celebrated 30 years of the Charity Ride, 75 years of the Petty family competing in racing and 20 years of Victory Junction providing camp experiences to children with medical conditions.

Victory Junction is the camp created in honor of the late Adam Petty, whose goal was to create a place where children with serious illnesses would experience joyful childhood experiences.

"I can't believe (the ride is) still here," Petty said. "For it to all coincide at the same time, it's pretty, pretty special. You know there's a God who's got a sense of humor, because he's like 'We're just going to pump all this on you at one time.'"

The lineup of hundreds of participants has rotated over the years, but there are several who have crossed the country numerous times while raising money for those in need. According to Morgan Petty, Kyle Petty's wife, there are seven people who have taken part in every single ride dating back to the inaugural event in 1995.

The desire to ride motorcycles across the United States while visiting historic locations is certainly one reason why these riders keep joining Petty each year. They have been able to spend time at such places as the Bonneville Salt Flats, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Monument Valley.

The desire to support Victory Junction and the children is a greater reason, something that Petty called humbling for him as he prepares to take the riders to Victory Junction for a special event.

"This year, the charity ride chose to build a brand-new pool for the brand new waterpark for camp," Petty said. "We tore the other one up late last year and it's supposed to be done by the time we get back.

"It's a brand-spanking-new waterpark. It's about a $2.5-3 million project that the charity ride instigated for camp. Felt like after 20 years (the kids) needed new digs to swim in. So that's a big deal for us to end there at camp."

The decision to end the seven-day journey at Victory Junction means that all of the riders — veterans and rookies alike — will be able to see the result of their support. They will see how the money raised turned into memorable experiences for the children.

For Petty, it's another opportunity to honor Adam's memory, something he doesn't take lightly.

"People refer to it as the Petty camp. It's not our camp," Petty said. "It's the kids' camp. They own it.

"It's our job as our family — these people out here, this community — it's our job to be caretakers and to keep it up and running. Hopefully, we don't let these kids down."

The 2024 Kyle Petty Charity Ride schedule:

• Saturday, May 4 – Deadwood, South Dakota to North Platte, Nebraska
• Sunday, May 5 – North Platte, Nebraska to Omaha, Nebraska
• Monday, May 6 – Omaha, Nebraska to Bettendorf, Iowa
• Tuesday, May 7 – Bettendorf, Iowa to Indianapolis, Indiana
• Wednesday, May 8 – Indianapolis, Indiana to Bowling Green, Kentucky
• Thursday, May 9 – Bowling Green, Kentucky to Bristol, Virginia
• Friday, May 10 – Bristol, Virginia to Greensboro, North Carolina