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Making a pit stop in the Southwest for a good cause BY CAROL KAHN
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For seven days, 225 participants will be riding on 125 motorcycles, traveling over 1,500 miles throughout two states.
Beginning in Phoenix on April 30 and culminating on May 6 back in Phoenix — former NASCAR driver and NBC Sports racing analyst, Kyle Petty, along with his father racing legend, Richard Petty and 225 motorcycle riders will venture off on a Southwestern adventure through Arizona and Utah for a good cause. Kyle Petty’s Charity Ride Across America is set for its 26th anniversary Southwestern Adventure.
After being postponed twice, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the riders will complete one of the ride’s most scenic routes, traveling more than 1,500 miles to raise money and awareness for Victory Junction, a camp that began in 2004 for children with serious medical illnesses. “This is the longest ride we've ever planned. Because we've been working on this ride since mid 2019 and again in 2020. And we're finally getting to do it,” Petty said. “So, my dad's coming with us [NASCAR Hall of Famer and seven-time champion Richard Petty], NASCAR legends Harry Gant, Hershel
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McGriff, Donnie Allison, Ken Schrader; and NBC Sports NASCAR personality Rick Allen — and 225 of my good friends that will come along — there's a pack of us for sure.” The inspiration for the ride came in 1994, when Petty and three friends rode their motorcycles from North Carolina to a NASCAR race at Phoenix International Raceway. Friends joined the ride along the way, and by the time the group reached Phoenix, it had grown to 30 riders. The turnout inspired Petty, and he decided to nurture the event into something bigger, hence, the Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America was born. On previous rides throughout the years, Petty says that they have gone from Seattle to Key Largo, Florida and continued to Key West – just to say they had completed the longest ride across America. This year, the group decided that they wanted to do a southwest tour beginning and ending in Phoenix. It’s a first for the riders who have been doing this for 25 years. “So we just made a loop and we decided we would go from Lake Havasu to Flagstaff, Flagstaff up
