Two hundred motorcyclists, 25 support vehicles and ride sponsors recently kicked off the Chick-fil-A Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America at Freightliner Trucks’ headquarters in Portland, Ore.
Freightliner, which sponsors Petty Racing, provided a breakfast at the July 23 kickoff for all those involved, as well as an opportunity to inspect several Freightliners.
The nine-day ride takes the riders though the South Dakota Badlands and Wyoming before ending their journey in the Victory Junction Gang Camp in Randleman, N.C.
The Charity Ride has logged more than 38,000 miles over 11 years. More than 5,000 riders have participated, raising more than $7 million for children’s hospitals and charities.
Kyle and Richard Petty joined the caravan July 24, in Idaho Falls, Idaho, after competing in the Pennsylvania 500 NASCAR race that weekend.
The main beneficiary of the ride is the Victory Junction Gang Camp in Randleman. The nonprofit camp serves children with chronic or life-threatening illnesses by creating exciting camping experiences. Kyle and Patty Petty started the camp to honor their son Adam, who died in a racing accident.
“We were motivated to do something for our neighbors in North Carolina, so now Victory Junction is a place where children in the region can forget about their problems for a week and just be a kid at camp: reading, singing, laughing and making friends, all the while being fully supported by a full medical staff and a state-of-the-art medical facility,” Kyle Petty said.
