| | | | | | LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT | Petty moves into top 5 in career starts with 809 to date | He joins the likes of Darrel Waltrip after Martinsville Race |
| | By Garrett Friedeck / Racegear.com It seems only fitting that Martinsville Virginia Speedway will be the track where Kyle Petty becomes the driver with the fifth-most starts ever. There, he will join Darrell Waltrip with 809 career starts.
This weekend, Petty will travel to the Virginia Commonwealth for the Subway 500, marking the beginning of the second half of the Chase for the Championship.
"I’ve been doing this for a long time," says Petty. "When I started racing in ’79, if you would have told me that I would have more starts than Darrell Waltrip or some of these other guys I would have said ‘No way.’"
Petty has been linked to Martinsville all through his extensive career: He ran his first race there in 1980, and it is only a short drive from Petty Enterprises in Randleman, N.C.
“I’ve been racing [Martinsville] since the early 80’s," Petty said. "It’s great to reach another milestone in my career here. It’s neat how things work out like that."
Fifty-three of those starts have been right there at Martinsville. Along with them, Petty has claimed five top-five and fifteen top-ten finishes at the Commonwealth. He also grabbed one pole at Martinsville in 1992. To top it off, his 23,817 completed laps at Martinsville are the most of all tracks raced in his career. He attributes much of this success to experience.
“Experience really comes into play at a track like Martinsville. I don’t think there are very many teams out there with the combined Martinsville experience that Billy [Wilburn, crew chief] and I have," Petty said. "Billy was working with Rusty [Wallace] when he was winning all those races there. He’s probably been going to Martinsville for over 20 years. [And] before I started driving I would be there watching and helping ‘The King’ win his 15 races. That kind of experience is something you just can’t buy.”
Going into Martinsville, Petty sits 35th in the owner points standings. | | Posted October 16, 2007 , 6:28 pm EST
Last Updated October 18, 2007 , 4:33 pm EST | | | | | | | | | | |
