Racing Career
Petty began his career in 1998, shortly after he turned 18. Like his father Kyle, he won his first ARCA RE/MAX Series race, in the #45 Sprint/Spree Pontiac at Lowe's Motor Speedway in that same year.
Petty drove a #45 Sprint Chevrolet in the Busch Series full-time in 1999 after a successful season in the Midwestern short track American Speed Association season in the #45 Spree Pontiac. He also finished sixth in his first Busch Series race at Daytona and had a best finish of fourth place that year. However, he failed to qualify for three races, and finished 20th overall in points.
Petty Enterprises planned to give Adam a Winston Cup ride in 2001 and to give him seven starts in Cup in 2000, along with a full Busch campaign in a car sponsored by Sprint. He struggled early in the Busch season, but managed to qualify in his first attempt at Winston Cup during the DirecTV 500 at Texas 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 40th. Lee Petty, Adam's great-grandfather, and 3-time NASCAR Champion, lived to see his debut, but died just three days later.
Read more about this topic: Adam Petty
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