Kyle Petty takes off on 20th Charity Ride Across America

By May 3, 2014, 8:19 PM EDT
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If you live between Carlsbad, Calif., and Daytona Beach and see a large group of motorcycles coming up in your rearview mirror some time in the next eight days, it’s likely the guy on the lead bike will be NASCAR analyst Kyle Petty.

Petty and about 175 others kicked off the 20th annual Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America on Saturday in Carlsbad. The 2,800-mile trek – the longest in the ride’s history – will continue through May 10 and end in the infield of Daytona International Speedway.

“What began as just a few friends having a good time riding track to track has turned into what we have today, which is an incredible event that provides thousands of life changing experiences for children,” Petty said in a media release. “This is the first year we’ve traveled straight from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, and I’m looking forward to experiencing it with friends, while meeting our fans and generous supporters along the way.”

The Ride is designed to raise funds and awareness for Victory Junction, a camp Petty and wife Patti established for kids with chronic or life threatening illnesses more than 10 years ago after the tragic death of son Adam Petty in a practice crash at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

“It’s amazing to see how one tragedy can turn into something so incredible like Victory Junction,” NASCAR Hall of Famer and Kyle’s father, Richard, said.

The King will take part in one of the segments of the Ride, along with current NASCAR star Matt Kenseth, former NASCAR driver Geoff Bodine, NASCAR legends Harry Gant and Donnie Allison and former NFL great Herschel Walker.

“After five years, it’s great to be back on the Kyle Petty Charity Ride to support Kyle and the Camp – just in time for the 20th Anniversary,” Richard Petty said.

Here’s the schedule for the 2014 Kyle Petty Charity Ride:

• Day 1 Saturday, May 3 – Carlsbad, Calif. to Tucson, Ariz.

• Day 2 Sunday, May 4 – Tucson, Ariz. to Las Cruces, N.M.

• Day 3 Monday, May 5 – Las Cruces, N.M. to Midland, Texas

• Day 4 Tuesday, May 6 – Midland, Texas to Austin, Texas

• Day 5 Wednesday, May 7 – Austin, Texas to Beaumont, Texas

• Day 6 Thursday, May 8 – Beaumont, Texas to New Orleans

• Day 7 Friday, May 9 – New Orleans to Tallahassee, Fla.

• Day 8 Saturday, May 10 – Tallahassee, Fla. to Daytona Beach, Fla.

During its first 19 years, more than 7,330 riders have taken part in the Ride, logging over 10.7 million cumulative motorcycle miles and donated $15 million to Victory Junction Camp and other children’s charities.

To follow Petty and the riders live, visit facebook.com/KPCharityRide, on Twitter at @kpcharityride or @kylepetty. You can also donate on the Ride’s web site, www.kylepettycharityride.com.

Follow me @JerryBonkowski

Texas starting lineup: Felix Rosenqvist back on pole; Scott Dixon qualifies second

By Apr 1, 2023, 4:00 PM EDT
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FORT WORTH, Texas — For the second consecutive year, Felix Rosenqvist will lead the NTT IndyCar Series starting lineup to the green flag at Texas Motor Speedway.

The Arrow McLaren driver is hoping the third time will be the charm at the 1.5-mile oval, where he has run extremely well but has only a career-best 12th in five starts.

“We’ve always been good here, but this is a whole different confidence level compared to last year,” Rosenqvist told NBC Sports’ Marty Snider. “Let’s try to wrap it up (Sunday).”

In 2020, Rosenqvist was competing for a podium when he crashed with 10 laps remaining at Texas.

QUALIFYING RESULTS: Click here for speeds from Saturday’s time trials

INDYCAR AT TEXAS: Schedule, start times, how to watch on NBC, Peacock

Last year, he started first on an oval for the first time in his career but finished 21st because of a broken halfshaft.

“It’s definitely one of my favorite tracks, and naturally, I’ve always been OK here,” Rosenqvist said. “It was the first oval that made sense to me. Every year I’m building on that. But looking at the results, they don’t represent the speed I normally have.

“I don’t want to jinx anything, but I hope tomorrow is going to go a bit better and some luck our way would be nice. It’s been feeling super good. Arrow McLaren has been mega every session, so just keep it rolling.”

Arrow McLaren qualified all three of its Chevrolets in the top five, building on a second for Pato O’Ward and fourth for Alexander Rossi in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

The March 5 season opener was a disappointing start for Rosenqvist who was squeezed into the wall by Scott Dixon on the first lap.

Dixon, a five-time winner at Texas, will start second Sunday, followed by Rossi and Josef Newgarden. O’Ward will start fifth alongside Takuma Sato, who will start on the outside of the third row in his Chip Ganassi Racing debut.

During nearly four hours of practice and qualifying (including a special high-line session), Saturday’s lone incident involved Conor Daly.

The Ed Carpenter Racing driver spun three times but stayed off the wall and in the frontstretch grass. Aside from a front wing change and new tires, there was no damage to his No. 20 Dallara-Chevrolet during the incident midway through the 30-minute session in which drivers were limited to the high line.

“I hadn’t really had a moment before, but it snapped really aggressively,” Daly told NBC Sports after final practice. “Not ideal, but I do know my way around correcting a spin it seems like. I drove NASCAR last weekend and that seemed to help a little bit. I drove in the dirt a lot in USAC Midgets and seemed to be able to save something but not ideal or what we wanted to have happen.”

Daly will start 25th of 28 cars alongside teammate Rinus VeeKay in Row 13. Carpenter qualified 18th.

“Our three of our cars were clearly looking for something. Mechanical grip is for sure what we need. Qualifying we actually expected to be a lot better, but we found an issue there. We’ll see what happens. This race can change a lot. I’m confident in the team to hopefully figure some things out for tomorrow.”

Here’s the IndyCar starting lineup for Sunday’s PPG 375 at Texas Motor Speedway (qualifying position, car number in parentheses, driver, engine and speed):

ROW 1

1. (6) Felix Rosenqvist, Dallara-Chevy, 220.264 mph
2. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 219.972

ROW 2

3. (7) Alexander Rossi, Dallara-Chevy, 219.960
4. (2) Josef Newgarden, Dallara-Chevy, 219.801

ROW 3

5. (5) Pato O’Ward, Dallara-Chevy, 219.619
6. (11) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 219.508

ROW 4

7. (10) Alex Palou, Dallara-Honda, 219.480
8. (12) Will Power, Dallara-Chevy, 219.355

ROW 5

9. (18) David Malukas, Dallara-Honda, 219.256
10. (26) Colton Herta, Dallara-Honda, 219.184

ROW 6

11. (28) Romain Grosjean, Dallara-Honda, 219.165
12. (29) Devlin DeFrancesco, Dallara-Honda, 219.146

ROW 7 

13. (55) Benjamin Pedersen, Dallara-Chevy, 219.100
14. (14) Santino Ferrucci, Dallara-Chevy, 218.892

ROW 8

15. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Dallara-Chevy, 218.765
16. (8) Marcus Ericsson, Dallara-Honda, 218.698

ROW 9

17. (77) Callum Ilott, Dallara-Chevy, 218.427
18. (33) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Chevy, 218.375

ROW 10

19. (78) Agustin Canapino, Dallara-Chevy, 218.367
20. (27) Kyle Kirkwood, Dallara-Honda, 218.227

ROW 11

21. (06) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 218.196
22. (60) Simon Pagenaud, Dallara-Honda, 218.103

ROW 12

23. (51) Sting Ray Robb, Dallara-Honda, 217.676
24. (15) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 217.611

ROW 13

25. (20) Conor Daly, Dallara-Chevy, 217.457
26. (21) Rinus VeeKay, Dallara-Chevy, 216.880

ROW 14

27. (45) Christian Lundgaard, Dallara-Honda, 216.210
28. (30) Jack Harvey, Dallara-Honda, 216.103