Proposed Victory Junction Midwest Camp Plans on Hold

Former NASCAR driver Kyle Petty, who along with his wife, Pattie, founded the original camp in North Carolina, said the economy has not rebounded sufficiently to pursue donations to build and operate a second camp, which is free of charge for children and their families.

“We decided at our last board meeting in North Carolina to suspend the operations in Kansas City,” Petty said. “We have just beat our head against the wall with the economy right now.

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Kyle Petty Not Concerned About Direction of Victory Junction After Removal of Wife

Per SportingNews, Kyle Petty doesn’t believe the removal of his wife, Pattie, as chief executive officer of Victory Junction Gang Camp will negatively impact the camp the couple founded in memory of their son Adam.

“It doesn’t impact anything, it really doesn’t,” Kyle Petty, a former NASCAR star, said Monday. “Basically, the board had decided to ask Pattie to take an emeritus role and just be a spokesperson. … I have no concerns with the direction of the camp at all. Period.”

The Pettys’ son Austin is chief operating officer of the camp for chronically ill children. The Pettys opened its Randleman, N.C., camp in 2004 and has been raising funds for a new camp near Kansas City.

“While public figures are involved, this situation is no different from a regulatory perspective, and personnel matters are private and confidential per the law and human resource policies,” Austin Petty said in a statement.

“Because of this, we will not have any further comment on this or any other personnel issues at this time.”

The North Carolina camp, which has hosted more than 14,000 children free of charge since it opened in 2004, was started after a major fund-raising effort by Kyle and Pattie and with the help of the NASCAR community. It was created in memory of Adam, who was killed in a NASCAR crash in 2004. Adam Petty had talked about building the camp before he was killed at age 19.

“We’re always going to be involved in the camp,” said Kyle, the son of seven-time Cup champion Richard Petty and a driver from 1979 to 2008. “The camp was founded in memory of Adam, and we have worked incredibly hard to build the camp.

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Patty Petty Removed From Victory Junction's Day-to-Day Operations

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Patty Petty Removed From Victory Junction's Day-to-Day Operations

Per Kansas City Star, The Victory Junction board of directors has informed Patty Petty, wife of former NASCAR driver Kyle Petty and daughter-in-law of Hall of Famer Richard Petty, that she will no longer be part of the day-to-day operations of the camp.

The board has offered her emeritus status, but she is balking at serving in a purely ceremonial role.

“They don’t want anything to do with me,” said Pattie Petty, who has been living in Kansas City part time while raising funds for the camp in Wyandotte County. “They gave me not one reason. They said they wanted to make a change. … I’m not sure what I did wrong, but the word came back to me I was making irrational decisions.

“Two board members who wanted me to leave gave me an ultimatum … never go to the camp, not talk to anybody with the camp. … It was probably the most hurtful thing that’s ever happened to me in my life.”

John McKee, president of Victory Junction and who was hired by Pattie Petty, said he has been instructed by the board not to have any comment “because there is an ongoing employment negotiation.”

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Kyle Petty Not Concerned About Direction of Victory Junction After Removal of Wife

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STP to Donate $43k to Victory Junction

DANBURY, Conn.  – In addition to the announcement of the iconic No. 43 STP Ford Fusion returning to the track at the STP 400 on Sunday, April 22, STP is marking this special milestone with Richard Petty by donating $43,000 to Victory Junction to help make campers’ dreams come true.

STP changed the motorsports sponsorship landscape when they signed their first deal with Richard Petty in 1972, and this year they are proud to celebrate their 40^th Anniversary with Petty. The brand wants to give to a cause they know means a lot to Petty and his entire family.

“In 1972 STP supported me and my team so we could do what we loved, and now 40 years later they are helping to make these campers dreams come true by giving them a week of fun at the camp,” said Richard Petty, “STP is more than just a name on our car, they are true partners and I look forward to many more years as an STP man!”

Victory Junction was created by Kyle and Pattie Petty in honor of their son and Richard’s grandson Adam who lost his life in a racing accident. Every summer more than 2,500 campers, between the ages of six and16 years old, venture to Randleman, NC for a week of non-stop, full-throttle fun. Victory Junction serves children with 24 chronic medical conditions and serious illnesses.

“We are proud of our relationship with Richard and the entire Richard Petty Motorsports family,” said David Lundstedt, CEO of Armored AutoGroup Inc. “We thought the best way to celebrate this unparalleled sponsorship milestone was with a $43,000 donation to Victory Junction in honor of Richard.”

After the STP 400 at Kansas Speedway, STP, in conjunction with Victory Junction and Richard Petty Motorsports, will auction off Aric Almirola’s race-worn firesuit signed by both Almirola and Petty. All proceeds from this one-of-a-kind firesuit will benefit Victory Junction. Fans can visit http://myworld.ebay.com/victoryjunction to bid on the firesuit next week.

In addition, as part of the celebration STP will be providing race-day tickets for service members from Fort Riley and Fort Leavenworth. Service members will enjoy an afternoon of fun, taking in all the action on the 1.5 mile tri-oval.

To cap off the 40^th Anniversary, STP will be launching a national television campaign, entitled the Left Lane Club, featuring Richard Petty. The advertisement will premiere during the STP 400 at Kansas Speedway on FOX and will continue to run through the summer.

/// PR

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