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In the blood Petty teenager considering continuing family tradition
CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- His friends call him "Road Rash" because of the numerous scrapes on his body from a recent spill on his motorcycle. But to everyone else, he's "another Petty," viewed as the next in line to continue the family business. And for the first time in his life, 19-year-old Austin Petty is considering racing cars as a career. As a member of most famous family in NASCAR, Austin grew up at racetracks. He heard stories about "The King" -- his grandfather, Richard -- and the seven Winston Cup championships he won. He stood on top of motor homes every Sunday watching his father, Kyle, race cars on tracks all over the country. And he shared a room with his brother, Adam, who kept him awake at night talking about his own racing dreams. But Austin never had much interest in trying it himself. "I looked at it like, 'My brother does it, why do I need to do it?' But in the back of my mind, I think I knew that sometime, somewhere, I was going to end up in racing because that's what we've always done and it's the family business."
And so this season, a year after Adam was killed in an accident while practicing for a Busch series event at New Hampshire International Speedway, another Petty is racing cars and giving everyone hope that the family's famous name might continue to be heard on the track. That didn't seem possible a year ago, when 19-year-old Adam was killed. He was viewed as the next Petty, and only weeks before his death made the Pettys the first four-generation family in Winston Cup. Even Richard Petty thought the family's on-track involvement would soon end because Austin "cares more about girls than he does racing." Austin, who had done a stint at a driving school and was tinkering with Legends cars before Adam's death, doesn't deny that was once true. But when his family sat back to evaluate their situation after Adam's death, he finally considered racing. "One thing that you see people saying a lot is that the 'Petty dynasty is dead, the fourth-generation driver is gone,'" he said. "I would like to see another fourth-generation Petty come out of the woodwork, but I don't feel obligated. "The King never gave me that and Dad never gave me that, but in a way, being here, I can see me doing this for Adam." But his involvement has yet to reach that of Adam's. Austin's summer job is learning to be an instructor at the Richard Petty Driving Experience, where he drives stock cars around Lowe's Motor Speedway at speeds nearing 150 mph. And he spends Tuesday nights racing Bandolero cars in the weekly Summer Shootout series at the track, driving the No. 46 car. In his red fire suit -- with a No. 45 decal on it with a black line through it as a tribute to his brother -- Austin bears a striking resemblance to Adam. "When I'm at the racetrack, I still get called Adam because I look so much like him," he said. "Even though I'm here and he's not here, I still feel him with me." Austin missed one race while recovering from the road burns he got in his motorcycle accident over the July 4 holiday, but he's still 14th in points in his division. His best finish was sixth last week, but he spun out another driver in qualifying and received a lecture from the older competitor, who complained he didn't have the money Austin does "to keep tearing up cars." "I know he's made some people mad because he drives a little wild, but we all did when we first started off," Kyle said. Although Austin said he has the full support of his parents, they rarely go to the track to watch him race. It's a difficult subject for Kyle and Pattie. Austin is sure his mother would prefer he didn't get involved in racing. "But what mom would want their child to get in a race car and go 150 mph or 200 mph around a racetrack?" he said. "Because of what happened to Adam, my parents are naturally worried. They call me every hour or I call them every hour and say, 'Hey, I love you.' "But with the level of worry, I think there is also a level of pride when my dad sees his son getting into a race car." Because he has taken a different route than his only brother, Austin's interest is still being assessed by Kyle. "Being as involved as Adam was, he didn't want to copy Adam," Kyle said. "But if that's what he wants to do, then that's fine. "Unless something trips in his mind, I'm not going to say he won't be a driver. At the same time, he's 19 years old and just now taking a serious interest, where if you walk around this garage area, most of these guys took an interest when they were 5 or 6." For now, Austin will continue his plans to enroll in college next fall. And he'll take business classes, just in case he decides his future in racing is on the business side of Petty Enterprises. At this stage, he hopes not. "I'd like for racing to possibly be an occupation," he said. "I think no matter what I do in life, I'm going to end up in racing because that's what I've been around my entire life -- I have the name and it's in my blood."
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