| | I don't think I can put the pain I feel today in words. I know that's my job, but I don't think I can do it.
The death of Adam Petty on Friday left all of us who knew the young man saddened. Nothing compares to the loss we've all experienced on a personal level. We've lost an exciting, fun-loving and charming young man.
|  | | Adam Petty's fun-loving spirit will be missed. |
We also lost one of NASCAR's rising stars, but the sport will not miss Adam Petty nearly as much as any person who knew him. There are plenty of rising young stars in this sport and headliners already in the sport. What made Adam Petty so refreshing wasn't his promise on the track, but rather how much youth he brought to racing and into the lives he touched.
That's the biggest loss right now, the loss of a vibrant young man, who had shown at times flashes of his great talent.
Unfortunately, we who follow the sport have to be prepared for this type of tragedy. You never want it to happen, and yes, it's the most tragic and dangerous aspect of this sport. But when it happens to someone so young, someone who has shown so much enthusiasm, and had so much promise, it just hurts deeper than you can imagine.
As for the Petty family, which also means Petty Enterprises, the first loss is obviously the loss of a family member. Another family member, no less. The recent loss of patriarch Lee Petty, who died last month at the age of 86, makes this tragedy that much worse for the Petty family. Richard, Kyle, Adam and the rest of the family had just laid to rest the leader of the Petty family, the one man who started the whole Petty legacy.
Lee Petty died three days after Adam drove in his only Winston Cup race. Now, in a short period of time, the Petty family has lost both the past and the future of its racing legacy.
Adam's professional future was in place. He was only 19-years-old and had so many years to polish his talent. He was going to be given that opportunity because he'd shown the desire. The past success of the Petty family would have enabled him to be put into a position to chase his dream.
Professionally, his father Kyle had put into place a very intricant plan to build the future of Petty Enterprises around his son. He was driving his first full Busch Series season and would drive Winston Cup full-time next season as part of Petty Enterprises' switch to the new Dodge program. In fact, Kyle had said in a recent ESPN interview that if the best thing for Adam's career was Kyle giving up the seat in the No. 42 car, he would do that this season. Kyle knew the future of Petty Enterprises was Adam Petty.
I'd watched Kyle on numerous occasions, and I'm not sure I was overly moved by Kyle's racing skill. Sure, he'd show you at times he had the ability and knowledge to be successful in this business, but what impressed me was his ability to learn. What impressed me most was he knew that when he had a bad race, or was in a wreck, he could draw experience and learn from it. Adam could reflect back on the negative and learn from it, so he wouldn't make the same mistake twice.
That's what I liked about Adam Petty the race car driver the most.
Adam was so young -- not only as a person, but also as a driver -- that he was still growing into his family name. And you know what, I always thought he handled that growth so well. He carried the Petty name with dignity. And the name Petty is certainly one of the most difficult labels to carry in all of professional sports. But he carried his family's name well.
Adam had recently told me that he put more pressure on himself than anyone possibly could. And, while his father expected him to do well, it wasn't because he was a Petty. Rather, it was due to Adam showing the desire and talent to perform well. It was just like any father would treat a promising son or daughter in sports. Kyle hoped Adam would be successful.
The pressure wasn't on Adam to do things he didn't want to do, but rather the pressure was a sense of leadership from Kyle, who would point Adam in the right direction, telling him he needed to do this, or that better. For most people who will never drive a race car, it would be like a father showing his son or daughter how to throw a baseball in the backyard. And each pitch, you hope, will be better and better.
All Kyle wanted for Adam was for each lap to be better than the last lap.
Death in auto racing is in your mind all the time. I don't think it's in the drivers' minds, but certainly as a fan who loves this sport and a reporter who works in it, you know it's a possibility. You don't think about it, you don't dwell on it, but you know it's there. But there is nothing that can compare you for when it happens.
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ALSO SEE
Family plans private service for Adam Petty
Driver Adam Petty dies after Busch practice crash
Petty family goes from glory to tragedy
Grief evident in Petty's hometown
Ask Bill Weber
AUDIO/VIDEO
 RPM 2Night takes a look at the all too brief career of Adam Petty.
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 Steve Park says it is a sheer tragedy to lose a young racer at the start of his career.
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Todd Bodine says Adam's death will be a loss for mankind.
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David Green says the sport of auto racing will miss Adam Petty.
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Despite a good run, Buckshot Jones' thoughts are with the Petty family.
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