CHARLOTTE, N.C. — “We’ll never get outta here alive.”
That’s what was running through Kyle Petty’s mind one day at a dirt track in Pender County, N.C. As Kyle remembers it, he was 18 at the time and had just started racing — and being the grandson of racing legend, Lee Petty, and the son of all-time winningest Cup Series driver, Richard Petty, Kyle was promised some “show money” in cash ahead of this event he was driving in.
“Grandfather Petty” directed Kyle to not unload the car from the truck until that money arrived, which caused a stir among some fans. The story ends with Lee Petty, smoking on his pipe in his uniquely calm and powerful way, responding to a fan who had gotten in his face: “We’ll unload (the car) when we damn well please.”
