Petty Tests His Stamina

There’s a lot riding on the young shoulders of Adam Petty this weekend.

The 19-year-old will have a loud cheering section when he attempts to make his Winston Cup debut in Sunday’s DirecTV 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Petty, a regular in the NASCAR Grand National series, will pull his first weekend of “double duty” as he competes in Saturday’s Albertson’s 300 Grand National race while attempting to join his great-grandfather, Lee Petty; grandfather, Richard Petty; and father, Kyle Petty, as successful drivers in NASCAR’s largest series.

Grand National qualifying begins today; Winston Cup Friday.

“Most definitely (the pressure) has turned up a few notches,” Petty said. “This weekend is really big for us. It’s my first chance to run against my father in a Winston Cup race, and I’m really looking forward to it.”

And Petty said he knows he can still turn to his father for help should he need it.

“I don’t think much is going to change. I think the advice he’s given me over a period of time has done nothing but help me,” Petty said. “This weekend will be a little different - we’ll be a lot closer. I’ll just jump out of my car and run down to his stall and we’ll be able to compare notes.”

Petty has had mixed results in his one-plus seasons in the Grand National series. His best finish was fourth at last season’s California race and he ended the year 20th in the points race. So far in 2000, Petty’s best finish is 16th at Darlington.

But father Kyle said he’s not worried about his son’s ability to win at the next level.

“I think Adam has tons of talent. He showed it coming up through the ASA ranks, where he had to do it on his own,” Kyle Petty said.

It’s an exciting thing to be able to compete against your son in this arena.

“I’m probably the biggest Adam Petty fan there is - I want him to lap me in 15 laps. He’s 19 years old and he’s running the (Grand National) series as his main deal and this is supposed to be fun for him.”