He competed in the American Speed Association in 1998 with a win at I-70 Speedway in Missouri and gained national attention later that year with his Automobile Racing Club of America victory at Lowe's Motor Speedway in the EasyCare 100.
Adam looked like he was on his way to become the next great Petty. But his racing dreams were dashed and cut short.
I realized as this Tuesday passed by that it marked the nine-year anniversary of Adam Petty's tragedy at a track that was nearby me in neighboring New Hampshire.
In one of those moments where you can be asked, "Where were you?", I could honestly say that I came home from school, tuned into ESPN 2 as I had usually done to read the ticker and then came the news that had me literally standing still for hours.
It was devastating. I felt like all the happiness I had that day was gone by just reading the ticker of Adam Petty's death.
Days later, I wondered how the Petty family held up. And to this day, I wonder how they hold it together individually and as a family.
While fans may dig on Kyle Petty not having a truly successful Cup career, you have to admire the perseverance of this 49-year-old man who keeps his son's legacy alive through his commentary and his duties tending to the VJGC in North Carolina and soon to open in Kansas.
You have to wonder how little brother Austin, who now is in his early 20s, and sister Montgomery Lee, who is now married, carried on without their cheerful older brother who had that patented Petty smile.
Or how his mother Pattie even had the strength to go to the track, including the one that took her son's life away.
For older fans, the tragic deaths of '92 Cup titlist Alan Kulwicki and superstar racer Davey Allison resonate loudly. The sport lost two of its greatest and most fiercest competitors in 1993.
But for me, the death of Petty still shocks me after all these years.
Unfortunately, I never got to meet him nor did I truly reflect on his accomplishments until the tragic accident in Loudon, N.H.
Racing has never been the same without Adam Petty or a Petty on the track in 2009.
In a time when money may be hard to come by, if not a donation to the Victory Junction Gang Camp, keep the Petty family in your hearts and mind as this week comes to a close.
While the festivities of the All-Star Race will garner attention, I hope you will at least take the time to remember this young man, whose racing dreams were dashed, but whose heart still remains in our world with his unselfishness and care to those who may not have it all made in life.
God speed to the Petty family!
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