From sports car racing and motorcycles to sponsor service, Kyle Petty, the CEO and resumed lead driver for Petty Enterprises' flagship Winston Cup operation is still doing all he can to stay busy and keep his mind off the loss last season of his oldest son in a racing accident. Adam Petty, 19, the heir apparent to the Petty stock car racing dynasty, was killed in a crash during Busch Series practice in May at New Hampshire International Speedway. His father took a brief break from the sport then continued. However, mid-way through the season he decided to switch roles. He went from driving the team's No. 44 Hot Wheels Pontiac in the Winston Cup Series to wheeling his son's Sprint Chevrolet in the Busch Series. Petty ultimately competed in 19 Winston Cup races and scored one top-10 finish, a ninth at Talladega, while on his way to 41st in the points. Qualifying was a problem for the team, which often had to use a provisional starting position. After Petty stepped out of the car, before the Southern 500 at Darlington on Labor Day Weekend, his replacement Steve Grissom continued to have problems making races. Beginning at Darlington in the fall he switched to drive his son's No. 45 cars, saying that he owed it to them to get them ready for the 2001 season. In 15 Busch races he had one top-5 and four top-10s. In the meantime he oversaw the switchover of the Winston Cup operation from Pontiac to Dodge, for 2001, when he will drive the No. 45 Sprint Dodge Intrepids engineered by crew chief Chris Hussey. Petty planned to begin 2001 by racing in the Grand American Road Racing Association Rolex 24 At Daytona sports car race at Daytona International Speedway, an event he had not competed in since 1986. He is always contemplating his Kyle Petty's Charity Ride Across America, founded in 1995 to benefit children's charities, has become one of the NASCAR season's highlights. Petty also works with numerous other charities, including the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Winston Cup Racing Wives Auxiliary. In 2000, he was named, along with his father, Richard, as
