“I Miss My Son Adam as Well”: NASCAR Veteran’s Touching Post Leads to Outpouring of Love as Hall of Fame Adds to Its Petty Collection

 NASCAR will be completing 75 years in 2023. In these 75 years, the sport has witnessed many great drivers. The sport has seen the Earnhardts, the Frances, the Elliotts, and many others. But there has been no one like the Pettys—a household that has furnished four generations of pure racing brilliance.

The Petty name is, arguably, the most well-known name in NASCAR history. It is a legacy that began with Lee Petty and was carried forward by Richard Petty. Later on, Richard’s son, Kyle took over, and then came Adam. Unfortunately, Adam died at the tender age of 19 years in a tragic accident at the New Hampshire Speedway.

Overall, the Pettys have 10 Cup Series titles to their name (3 for Lee and 7 for Richard), and innumerable race wins to go with that. Additionally, the Petty name has been involved in team ownership for decades as well, accumulating a number of wins there as well. There is no denying the fact that the Petty name will always remain an intrinsic part of the sport. However, the involvement of the name in the sport took a major hit recently.

Petty GMS—the last remnant of the Petty name in the Cup Series—was rebranded. It was renamed Legacy Motor Club earlier this month. With Jimmie Johnson joining the ownership table, the management felt it was time to let the future take over. While there was a section of fans that didn’t approve, others applauded the change.

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Of course, to see the Petty name would always have been a preferred way of appreciating their legacy in the sport. But it’s not as if people will forget the uncountable achievements the family has only because of a name change. They are well engraved in NASCAR history. 

NASCAR fans shed tears after seeing the tweet

In some sports, it is the jersey number that creates a memory and attachment to the sportsman. In NASCAR, it’s the car number; and for the Pettys, it will always be the #43 and #45. Kyle Petty recently shared a tweet with photos of the #43 and #45 cars on display at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.  

The photographs and tweet from Kyle Petty took fans down memory lane. A lot of empathetic reactions came in response to the tweet.

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There are a lot of memories attached to those cars—both for the Pettys and their fans. It is beautiful that the Hall of Fame has decided to immortalize those memories by adding cars to their collection. Touching!