By Luis Torres, Staff Writer/Photographer
Exploring the country is a blessing if people take the opportunity to sit down and embrace the landmarks. Moreover, having the opportunity to reflect on the bigger picture with over 200 people who start the exploration as strangers.
But after a week, those 200 strangers become family. All for a good cause to give children an opportunity to go camping.
That’s one way to describe the Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America as its 29th renewal commences Saturday, May 3 in Traverse City, Michigan with the weeklong ride concluding Friday, May 9 in Hot Springs, Virginia.
“I tell people when they show up the first time. When you show up that first night, when we have our welcoming dinner and all that stuff. When you show up that first time and you’ve never been on the ride, you walk into a room and there’s 200-250 people that are total strangers. Total strangers,” Kyle Petty told Motorsports Tribune.
“You probably don’t know any of them. You know him by name. You know Richard Petty, but you don’t know him. You know Kenny Schrader, but you don’t know him.
“By the end of the week, you become family. It’s a crazy transition as we go through the week and you ride in bad weather or you ride in good weather, or you have group dinners, and you sit with somebody and get to spend breakfast and lunch with them and talk to them and things like that. You just get to know people. You show up with 200 strangers and when you leave, it’s 200 members of your family and 200 new friends.”
Approximately 225 riders, which includes both Kyle and his father Richard Petty, NASCAR Hall of Famer Hershel McGriff, College Football Hall of Famer Herschel Walker, and Bill Davidson, great-grandson of Harley-Davidson co-founder William A. Davidson, will travel 1,400 miles across the country.
Additional Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America Celebrity Riders:
- Ken Schrader
- Kenny Wallace
- Max Papis
- Rick Allen
- Rutledge Wood
They’ll be making trips to seven states in seven days and making stops at some of the most prestigious venues in the country such as The Henry Ford in Dearborn, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, and Niagara Falls in New York. Of course, they’ll make a stop at one NASCAR circuit, which is Watkins Glen International this year.
In addition of making stops at America’s landmarks, riders will make 2-3 “pit stops” each day with fans being encouraged to not only meet the riders, but they can also contribute by donating to the Ride’s “Small Change. Big Impact” program.
29th Annual Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America Locations:
- Traverse City, Michigan
- Detroit, Michigan
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Niagara Falls, New York
- Corning, New York
- Bedford, Pennsylvania
- Hot Springs, Virginia
“It’s really cool and it really is to think that all we’re doing is riding motorcycles,” said Kyle. “But somebody takes off work and they come out to get my dad’s (Richard Petty) autograph or to get Kenny Schrader’s autograph or Kenny Wallace or Herschel Walker or Herschel McGriff, guys like that, and just see them and spend some time with them, whether it’s at a fuel stop or at a lunch stop.
“That’s incredibly gratifying, incredibly humbling. At the same time, I’m telling you, everybody knows we’re doing this for Victory Junction and you’re doing it for camp. I look at that and I think, ‘Oh my gosh, this is amazing!’
“These people give their time to come out and give to help these kids go to camp. That’s been really cool, really special and really humbling to watch so many fans come out through the years and just be a part of it.”
In previous years, they travelled to various stops in the United States, but didn’t make the time to pause and reflect at the landmarks. It was just recently that they’ve made sure to appreciate the areas such as the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Monument Valley, and the Badlands. They’ve also made stops at the Corvette Museum and Indianapolis Motor Speedway where those locations allow drivers, athletes and other people from all walks of life to appreciate the adventure even more.
“I say this in a joking way, but in a serious way too. We used to just pass by all these things. Now we’re actually going back and seeing all these things (laughs),” Kyle explained.
“You just ride by them on the highway and just kinda wave at them. Now all of a sudden we’re going back to places and visiting stuff, and that’s what we’re doing this year.
“We’re actually gonna stop our motorcycles and get off and go visit stuff, where in the past we just rode right past it at about 80 miles an hour. So, it’s a lot different kind of ride over the last three or four years than those first eight or 10 rides. It’s totally changed.”
Furthermore, getting away from the madness that includes being hands on technology such as a cellular device.
“When we’re on the charity ride, most people just use their phones for cameras. You don’t see people standing around in the parking lot talking on their phones. You don’t see people texting people. You don’t see people checking their emails. They just absolutely unhook and disengage for a solid week and that’s cool,” Kyle explained.
“That’s cool because it’s a grounding experience. It takes you back to let you know that there’s other things besides checking your phone 24 hours a day and calling everybody 24 hours a day and doing your emails. There’s other things in life.
“When you get back to it, and when we get into that part of it maybe we should just take everybody’s phone away from them. Maybe that would be cool too.”
However, there’s a necessary evil to have tech in the venture as amazing landmark visits leads to riders taking pictures to remember the moment.
That said, social media allows the ride to garner attention so people can understand the bigger purpose of the weeklong journey.
“Social media is such a huge part of this,” said Kyle. “I tell people all the time, that’s how you find out about us. You follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (X) and all of that. It’s all on kylepettycharityride.com and that’s how people find out about us. It’s a necessary evil, but these people kind of unhook for a week.”
While making those stops and creating everlasting memories, there’s a cause for this venture. The Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America will raise money for other children’s charities, including Victory Junction.
For two decades, Victory Junction was created in honor of Kyle’s son Adam Petty, to provide children age 6-16 with serious illness and chronic conditions, something to enjoy and find resiliency to think past their illness and try new things at camp.
They’ve raised more than $22 million for camps like Victory Junction which has provided over 136,000 camp experiences for children without families worrying about costs to attend. It enriches children’s lives and create memories that’ll last a lifetime.
Part of the reasons of its everlasting impact are the race fans of drivers who’ve contributed to Victory Junction.
“I’m amazed that the charity ride is still here after 29 years,” said Kyle. “I feel very blessed that the camp is still here after 20 years and still continuing to grow, and still continuing to thrive, and still continuing to prosper, and seeing more and more and more kids every year.
“That’s what the ride is about raising funds to send kids to camp. The ride is about meeting people along the way that will send kids to camp, so they kind of go hand-in-hand.
“When you look at the ride and you look at camp, it is an amazing thing to think that so many people have been a part of camp and have been a part of giving the camp and been a part of making camp work.
“When I say that, it’s guys like Kevin Harvick, it’s guys like Tony Stewart, it’s guys like Michael Waltrip, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and it’s all of their fans. It’s their fans that continue to give and continue to keep camp open.”
When the dust settles, all of these incredible moments have been the heartbeat of the charity ride which initially was done out of Kyle’s love for motorcycles. Kyle said they had a blast in their first year in 1995, it led to another event the following year.
Right away, Kyle realized it required a ton of work, and they put it aside until it gets close to Year 3 and do it again.
Then it led to five, to 10, to 20, to Year 29 where more than 9,350 riders have logged in a cumulative total of 13.1 million motorcycle miles.
Kyle explained that he never envisioned this charity ride would have lasted this long because there was no plan when it began 30 years ago. Now, it’s one of the most well-oiled machines in the country.
Therefore, it’s created such an incredible impact not just in motorsports, but life in general.
“It’s still a blast to do,” said Kyle. “I never thought this thing would last more than a couple of years and here we are 29 years later coming up on our 30th anniversary in 2026.
“You look at it and you look at the camp, you look at all the people that have ridden it, you look at all the kids that have benefited from it, and you think, ‘What would the world be like without it?’
“I think it’s just one of those things that has been so fun. It’s been meaningful. It’s served a great purpose and hopefully it’ll continue to for a long time.”
So, what brings people like Herschel Walker and other riders back to participate?
A question if Kyle had to answer—with a laugh—he’d asked more people to come back. Ultimately, he said those people believe in the vision of the Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America.
“Kenny Schrader and Kenny Wallace have just been friends forever. Herschel Walker, when he went on it for the first time, he just believed in it,” said Kyle. “He brings his whole family, he brings his brothers, he brings his cousins. There’s about seven or eight in his group that comes and rides.
“I think camp is the one thing that ties it all together. Again, I think it’s just that opportunity to give back to people and to give back to kids it just means so much to all these guys.
“This is an opportunity to do something they enjoy doing, which is ride motorcycles and to help people at the same time. So, I think it serves a couple of different purposes.”
To follow along the journey, check out both Kyle Petty and the charity ride’s social media platforms and for more additional information of the 29th annual event, including making your own contributions, visit www.kylepettycharityride.com.
Follow the Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America:
- Facebook: facebook.com/kpcharityride and www.facebook.com/kylepetty45
- Instagram: instagram.com/kpcharityride and www.instagram.com/kylepetty
- Twitter: twitter.com/kpcharityride and www.twitter.com/kylepetty
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