Kyle Petty’s Charity Ride Revival

The Omni Homestead was the site of the Kyle Petty Charity Ride Revival.

This was a scaled-down version of his Charity Ride Across America. The 2020 ride was canceled due to Covid-19. The charity revival ride is approximately half the size of the Charity Ride Across America. 

On Tuesday, the first day of the trip, riders set off from the Omni Homestead and went to the National D-day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia. Day two was supposed to go to Seneca Rocks in West Virginia, but the heavy rains made safe travel impossible, so they stayed at the Homestead. 

On Thursday, September 23rd, the riders went to New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. Before heading out Kyle offered this bit of advice, “Protect each other, give each other room, make sure to leave plenty of space for everybody to find their way out.”

Just off in the distance from where I was I saw the King of NASCAR, Kyle’s dad, Richard. I’m always one to hobnob with royalty when I get the chance, so I made my way over to talk to him. 

Q: Did you ever think your son would be able to help so many people with his charity? 

A:  We started to just do things as they came up. Kyle worked hard to make this charity successful. The  Camp is for chronically ill Children. Kids who can’t go to a regular camp. All of these people come here to help. They enjoy what they’re doing, but they know deep down that they’re helping a lot of kids throughout the country. 

Q: You guys have been blessed to travel all over the globe. What is it about small towns like this?

A: It’s great to come to small towns. They  know you. People come out; they contribute to the camp, but they just like to see a bunch of people having a good time. That’s what this crowd is. We’ve done this for 26 or 27 years. 

Victory Junction has served as the primary beneficiary since this establishment by the Petty family in 2004. The ride has raised more than 19 million dollars for Victory Junction and other children’s charities. The ride is one of the most successful and popular charity events in the country. 

Since 1995 more than 8,000 riders have helped raise more than 19 million dollars in funds for victory Junction and other children’s charities. Victoria Junction is a year-round camp for children ages 6 to 16 living with chronic medical conditions in serious health issues. 

More information about Victory Junction can be found on their website. www.victoryjunction.org.

For Allegheny Mountain Radio, this is Danny Cardwell.