The Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America is an annual, cross-country motorcycle ride that travels to raise awareness and funds for Victory Junction, a camp created to enrich the lives of children with chronic or life-threatening medical illnesses. One of the most successful and popular charity events in the country, the Ride engages celebrities, sponsors, motorcycle enthusiasts, fans and local communities. The Ride was founded in 1995 by

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

driver

Kyle Petty Kyle Eugene Petty (born June 2, 1960) is an American former stock car racing driver, and current racing commentator. He is the son of racer Richard Petty, grandson of racer Lee Petty, and father of racer Adam Petty, who was killed in a crash dur ...

About

The Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America is a week-long motorcycle trek through various cities nationwide. Since the Ride began in 1995, more than 7,950 riders have logged 11.6 million cumulative motorcycle miles and raised $17.5 million for Victory Junction and other children's charities. Kyle Petty 2008 Wells Fargo Dodge Charger

Kyle Petty 2008 Wells Fargo Dodge Charger

Beneficiaries

Victory Junction

Since its inception by Kyle in 2004 in honor of his late son Adam, Victory Junction has served as the Ride's primary beneficiary. Located on 84 acres in Randleman, North Carolina, Victory Junction exists to enrich the lives of children with chronic or life-threatening illnesses by creating camping experiences that are memorable, fun, empowering, physically safe and medically sound. As a result of the Ride, 7,985 children have attended Victory Junction at no cost to their families. Every week of summer, up to 120 kids can go to the camp for 5 days.

History

The inspiration for the Ride came in 1994, when Petty and three friends rode their motorcycles from North Carolina to a NASCAR race at

Phoenix International Raceway Phoenix Raceway is a 1-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona, near Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually including the final championship race since 2020. P ...

. Friends joined the ride along the way, and by the time the group reached Phoenix, it had grown to 30 riders. The turnout inspired Petty, and he decided to nurture the event into something bigger; thus the Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America was born.Vol.12 Issue 3: ''Philanthropy World'' Philanthropy in America,
Nascar's First Family
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Over the years, many celebrities have participated in the ride, including many

legends and personalities like

Richard Petty Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "The King", is an American former stock car racing driver who raced from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notabl ...

Donnie Allison Donnie Allison (born September 7, 1939) is an American former driver on the NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup circuit, who won ten times during his racing career, which spanned from 1966 to 1988. He is part of the "Alabama Gang", and is the bro ...

Harry Gant Harold Phil Gant"Harry P. Gant"
(born January 10, 1940), known for his many nicknames such as "The Ban ...

, Hershel McGriff,

Tony Stewart Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience. He is a ...

and

Matt Kenseth Matthew Roy Kenseth (born March 10, 1972) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He drives the No. 8 car in the Superstar Racing Experience. (SRX) Kenseth started racing on several short tracks in Wisconsin and won track cha ...

. Other notable riders have included

John Boy and Billy John Isley (born August 15, 1956) and Billy James (born August 31, 1957), known as John Boy & Billy, are American radio personality, radio hosts based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Their comedic morning program ''The John Boy & Billy Big Show'' br ...

, Paul Teutul Sr.,

Rutledge Wood Rutledge Wood (born April 22, 1980 in Birmingham, Alabama) is an auto racing analyst and TV show host. Wood was one of three hosts for History's ''Top Gear'' along with Adam Ferrara and Tanner Foust, which premiered on November 21, 2010. Unti ...

Davis Love III Davis Milton Love III (born April 13, 1964) is an American professional golfer who has won 21 events on the PGA Tour, including one major championship: the 1997 PGA Championship. He won the Players Championship in 1992 and 2003. He was in th ...

Herschel Walker Herschel Junior Walker (born March 3, 1962) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He was also the Republican nominee in the 2022 United States Senate election in Georgia. ...

, and

Brad Daugherty Brad Daugherty may refer to: * Brad Daugherty (basketball) (born 1965), American NBA player, currently a television sportscaster * Brad Daugherty (poker player) (born 1951), American poker player {{Hndis, Daugherty, Brad ...

. There was one event casualty: in 2020 when the Ride was cancelled on

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

grounds.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website

Victory Junction website
1995 establishments in the United States Children's charities based in the United States Health-related fundraisers Kyle Petty Recurring events established in 1995