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Adam Petty
Petty in 2000
Born	Adam Kyler Petty (1980-07-10)July 10, 1980 Trenton, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	May 12, 2000(2000-05-12) (aged 19) Loudon, New Hampshire, U.S.
Cause of death	Basilar skull fracture from crash in Turn 3 of practice for the2000 Busch 200
NASCARCup Series career
1 race run over 1 year
2000 position	68th
Best finish	68th (2000)
First race	2000 DirecTV 500 (Texas)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
NASCARO'Reilly Auto Parts Series career
47 races run over 3 years
Best finish	20th (1999)
First race	1998CarQuest Auto Parts 250 (Gateway)
Last race	2000Hardee's 250 (Richmond)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 4 0
NASCARCraftsman Truck Series career
2 races run over 1 year
Best finish	58th (1999)
First race	1999Virginia Is For Lovers 200 (Richmond)
Last race	1999O'Reilly 300 (Texas)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 1 0

Adam Kyler Petty (July 10, 1980 – May 12, 2000) was an American professional stock car racing driver. A member of the Petty racing family, he was the fourth generation from the Petty family to drive in races in the highest division ofNASCAR racing, mostly in what was then known as theNASCAR Busch Series. He was believed to be the first fourth-generation athlete in all of modern American professional sports.

Petty was raised inHigh Point, North Carolina, intostock car racing "royalty." The son ofKyle Petty, he was widely expected to become the next great Petty, following in the footsteps of his father, grandfatherRichard, and great grandfatherLee.

Petty began his career in 1998, shortly after he turned eighteen, in theARCA RE/MAX Series. Like his father Kyle, he won his first ARCA race, driving the No. 45Pontiac atLowe's Motor Speedway. Petty moved toNASCAR Busch Series full-time in 1999, driving the No. 45Chevrolet. Petty finished sixth in his first Busch Series race atDaytona and had a best finish of fourth place atFontana, though he also failed to qualify for three of the Busch races. Petty finished the 1999 season 20th overall in points.

Petty Enterprises planned to have Petty run a second Busch season in 2000, while giving him seven starts in the2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, in preparation for a full Winston Cup campaign in 2001. He struggled early in the Busch season, but managed to qualify in his first attempt at Winston Cup during theDirecTV 500 atTexas Motor Speedway on April 2. He qualified 33rd and ran in the middle of the pack most of the day before his engine expired, forcing him to finish fortieth. Adam never got to race alongside his father. Kyle failed to qualify and eventually relieved an illElliott Sadler, but Adam was already out of the race.Lee Petty, Adam's great-grandfather, and three-time NASCAR champion, lived to see his Winston Cup debut, but died just three days later.

On May 12, 2000, in a practice session for theBusch 200 race^[1] atNew Hampshire Motor Speedway, which would have been his 48th career Busch Series start, Petty'sthrottle had stuck wide open going into the third turn of the track, causing the car to hit the outside wall virtually head on, killing him instantly as he developed abasilar skull fracture.^[2] He was nineteen years old.

Petty's death, along with the death ofKenny Irwin Jr. in the same corner at the same track eight weeks later,^[3] led NASCAR to mandate the use of akill switch on the steering wheel and the adoption of theWhelen Modified Tourrestrictor plate for theSeptember Cup race; which was abandoned following the race, in whichJeff Burton led all the laps to win. Both adjustments addressed the cause of the deadly accidents, with the exception of the basilar skull fractures suffered by both drivers. AtTexas Motor Speedway,Truck Series driverTony Roper died on October 14, 2000, of a similar skull fracture. Use of theHANS orHutchens device (designed to prevent the rapid-deceleration head-and-neck movements associated with the injuries and skull fractures associated with the Petty, Irwin, Jr., and Roper deaths) was mandated by NASCAR in October 2001,^[4] following the later deaths of seven-timeWinston Cup championDale Earnhardt on the last lap of theDaytona 500 onFebruary 18, 2001, andARCA RE/MAX Series competitorBlaise Alexander during ARCA EasyCare 100 atCharlotte Motor Speedway on October 4, 2001, both of whom died from the same fatal skull injuries. In 2002, oval tracks hosting NASCAR andIndyCar races also adopted theSAFER barriers jointly developed byUniversity of Nebraska–Lincoln andIndianapolis Motor Speedway; drivers had requested installation of soft walls prior to the September New Hampshire Cup race.^[5]

Adam's father,Kyle Petty, who had driven the No. 44 Hot Wheels-sponsored Pontiac Grand Prix Winston Cup car at the time of his son's fatal crash at New Hampshire, chose to take over Adam's No. 45 car in the Busch Series for the remainder of 2000, withSteve Grissom taking the wheel of the blue No. 44 Pontiac. He then used the No. 45 in the Cup Series throughout the rest of his driving career during most of the 2000s decade.^[6] Kyle Petty later admitted he struggled with a personal depression during the 2001 Cup Series season about the loss of his son, which partly resulted in his poor finish in the 2001 Cup standings, but inspiring him to keep on driving the 45 car paying his tributes to Adam.

In October 2000, five months after Petty's death, his family partnered withPaul Newman and theHole in the Wall Gang Camp to begin the Victory Junction Gang Camp inRandleman, North Carolina, as a memorial to Petty. The camp has received support from many NASCAR drivers, teams, and sponsors, including Cup Series sponsor Sprint, which has placed a replica of Petty's 1998 car in the camp. The camp began operation in 2004 and is an official charity of NASCAR.

Petty also appears as a special guest driver in the video gamesNASCAR 2000,NASCAR Rumble,NASCAR 2001 andNASCAR Arcade. BothNASCAR 2001 andNASCAR Heat include tributes to both him and Irwin Jr.

In December 2013, Adam's brother Austin named his newborn son after Adam in tribute.^[7]

The car number 45, which was driven by Petty, is currently used by23XI Racing to represent the jersey number worn by co-ownerMichael Jordan.Kurt Busch drove the 45 car to victory atKansas Speedway in 2022, and dedicated his win to Petty.Bubba Wallace andTyler Reddick have also won races while driving the 45 car.^{[citation needed]}

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

• Adam Petty driver statistics at Racing-Reference

• 1980 births
• 2000 deaths
• American Speed Association drivers
• ARCA Menards Series drivers
• NASCAR drivers
• Racing drivers from High Point, North Carolina
• Petty family
• Kyle Petty
• Richard Petty
• Racing drivers who died while racing
• Sports deaths in New Hampshire
• Sportspeople from Trenton, New Jersey

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