This is your cue to put on ‘Wild Wild West’. Bullriding can be dangerous, pitting the competitor against a bull of 1,700–2,000 pounds. The ride uses only a flat-plaited rope with a handhold and an attached bell to stay on the bull. So, incurring severe injuries and broken bones is not uncommon. However, that was hardly enough to deter a NASCAR veteran – Kyle Petty.

Now 64 years old, Kyle Petty has accomplished a lot in his career. First and foremost would be his 30-year NASCAR journey, which featured eight Cup Series race wins. Then come the highly respected designations of philanthropist, TV personality, author, and talented musician. However, the motorsports icon had something missing in his resume until 2011 – a bull rider.

Kyle Petty recollects a wild experience

Well, the Petty family has dodged a lot of bullets. But most importantly, they have won several times in life. Lee Petty kicked-off this winning tradition in 1949 when he embarked on his first NASCAR race. So, no fear abounds in the family when it comes to trying something – even if they do not win, the attempt is enough. That is the mindset that Kyle Petty harbored when he embarked on a reckless sport for the first time.

In November 2011, Kyle Petty wanted to ride a motorcycle on the ‘Wall of Death’ in Texas. The Texas Motor Speedway president back then Eddie Gossage could not arrange it – but he arranged for a bull ride instead.

Petty recollected his thoughts and stated, “I thought he would have a calf for me to ride. Something small that I could just stand up and run out…like mutton-busting…So I walk through the ring, and this bull is huge.”

Nevertheless, Kyle Petty made the appropriate preparations. “I’m leaning more towards that. I got a mouthpiece, I had to borrow boots, chaps, a kevlar vest…and some guy gave me a helmet.” Safety remains crucial, guys!

But the then 52-year-old got into the nitty-gritty and mentioned, “They tapped me on the helmet and said, You can get off now if you want to…This is where most people get off. I said, No, no, I’m here, I’m going out the gate. He said, Hold your hand a certain way and you’ll get hung up…And when you hit the ground, run.”

After that, it was chaos for Kyle Petty, as he admitted it was “the most violent thing I’ve ever done!”

Petty continued, “That bull, boom! He just exploded, man. We went up, and we went down…The bull went dow,n and I stayed up. Then the bull started back u,p and I started down because that’s the way gravity works. He hit me, and I flipped off that bull… I was looking at the sky and I hit straight on my back…rocked up on my rear end and I looked. I saw six bulls coming at me, and I didn’t know which way to run. Suddenly a clown flashed before my eyes and the bull went in another direction, and I lived to fight another day.”

He delivered his verdict on bull riding: “It’s worse than a car crash!” Tip your hat to all bull-riders. It’s not a sport loved by most but it surely gives you the adrenaline pump, the NASCAR riders get inside the 750HP machines.

Nonetheless, Kyle Petty’s mettle valor was something that stood out. Yet he had to work hard to show proof of this brave mindset to his father.

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Earning his way into racing!

Richard Petty laid down a golden legacy in NASCAR. His 200 Cup race victories and seven championships etched his name in gold as a motorsports legend. However, he did not have it easy in life.

In 1959, his own father protested against a race victory at Lakewood Speedway in Atlanta, claiming he was one lap down. NASCAR officials agreed and handed Lee the win. Similarly, Richard taught his son Kyle the same motto – that he needs to earn his way up in the fast-paced racing world. When Kyle Petty professed his interest in becoming a race car driver as a teenager, his father had a condition.

Kyle Petty revealed that in an introduction to his book, Swerve or Die, released in 2022. “[Richard] said, ‘Okay, but you have to work in every part of the shop for at least a year before we even talk about it,’ Petty remembered. “So that was the engine shop, the Body Shop, the fab shop, the mechanical shop, the parts shop, the way he laid it out, I was gonna be about 92 By the time I got that got the drive a car.”

However, the young Petty worked hard – he spent hours after school in his teen years going to work in the shop with his dad. Kyle played in football games as well. But he never missed his dad’s races, as he would drive to wherever Richard Petty was racing in the country. In an ARCA Menards Series race in 1979, Kyle achieved his first victory at just 19 years of age.

Evidently, Kyle Petty’s achievements are undeniable. The veteran has many a story to tell ranging from racing stock cars to riding angry bulls. Hope we get his interesting takes moving forward!