NASCAR icon Richard Petty makes Harborcreek Township appearance
Kyle Petty’s charity motorcycle rally stop at Harborcreek Township’s TA Travel Center included an autograph session by his NASCAR Hall of Fame father.
“The King” still reigns more than 30 years after his last NASCAR start.
That sentiment was valid throughout Richard Petty’s May 5 appearance in Harborcreek Township.
The 87-year old NASCAR Hall of Famer, who transcended the sport with his friendly personality and a record 200 Cup Series victories, took pictures with fans and autographed memorabilia for nearly 45 minutes outside the TA Travel Center.
The session highlighted a stop during Kyle Petty’s latest Charity Ride Across America. It was the first time in nearly 30 years the son of Richard Petty, who won eight times on NASCAR’s top tour, scheduled a pause during one of his motorcycle rallies in northwestern Pennsylvania respite.
Richard Petty, in a brief interview with the Erie Times-News, was humorous and humble about the sustained influence he and his family have had on American culture since the late 1950s.
“I think some of that is because I’ve been here this long,” Petty said, “but it does make you feel good we’ve got this many people who still follow racing and the Petty crowd.”
Others on two wheels
An estimated 125 riders arrived en masse at the travel center. Kyle Petty, 64, scheduled Harborcreek to be the third of seven stops for his current rally, which began May 3 at Traverse City, Michigan.
It will conclude May 9 at Hot Springs, Virginia.
Besides Kyle Petty and his father, the caravan also included 1982 Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker; retired NASCAR veterans Ken Schrader and Kenny Wallace; and Hershel McGriff, at 97 another NASCAR Hall of Famer.
“We’ve had as many as 150 bikes (in a rally),” Kyle Petty said, “but we wanted to keep (the amount) shorter this year. It’s still been a great group.”
Multiple motives
Kyle Petty’s current rally, as have many before it, was arranged to raise money for Victory Junction and related children’s charities.
Victory Junction, located in Randleman, North Carolina, is a camp the Petty family specifically created for children with life-threatening illness. The facility, at no cost to their families, offers them outdoor life experiences largely unavailable elsewhere.
More than 135,000 youth have benefitted from Victory Junction’s 23-year existence, according to the charity’s website.
Donations made during the rally’s May 5 stop will add to more than $22 million formerly raised.
Kyle Petty also has arranged the rallies as a cathartic way to honor his late son.
Adam Petty, the family’s fourth-generation stock car driver, died during a May 12, 2000, practice session at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He was only 19.
“When I see the smiles on campers’ (faces),” Kyle Petty said, “I know it’s an Adam Petty smile.”
Unwanted do-over
The line for Richard Petty’s autograph briefly spilled into the travel center’s southern parking lot. Among those who comprised it were Ron Honey, 48, and his wife Kristen, 46.
Although the Warren couple sought Richard Petty’s autograph a second time, their reason why was a bittersweet one.
Among the memorabilia the Honeys held was a photo of Richard Petty signing Ron’s die-cast replica of Petty’s famed Pontiac STP No. 43 car. It was snapped during Petty’s 2017 appearance at New York’s Watkins Glen International.
Last year, a housefire engulfed most of Honeys’ possessions. Among them were Ron Honey’s shirt and miniature car from the picture.
“When we found out (Petty) was going to be here,” Kristen Honey said, “we wanted to try and recreate the whole photo. (Ron) found the same shirt he wore and die-cast car on eBay.”
The Erie Times-News caught up with the couple after their brief time with Petty.
Their do-over was deemed a success.
“He’s so personable and such a down-to-earth guy,” Ron Honey said.
‘Good genes’
The Petty caravan departed the travel center roughly an hour after it arrived. The riders were due in Niagara Falls, New York, by night’s end.
It’s there that Richard Petty is scheduled to spend much of May 6 at an American locale also considered iconic.
Petty considered himself blessed he can still actively help raise money for Victory Junction as an octogenarian, and even more so after former decades in a life-threatening profession.
“I guess I’m lucky to have good genes,” Richard Petty said. “It feels good to know (Kyle and I) are still here.
“If God let us live this long, the least we can do is give back.”
Contact Mike Copper at [email protected]. Follow him on X @ETNcopper.
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