The following is a sampling of the reaction from
the NASCAR<br> community to news of the passing of
19-year-old Adam Petty<br> following a crash Friday: <br><br>
"It is difficult to express our sadness over the
passing of Adam<br> Petty. On behalf of the entire NASCAR
family, we extend our<br> hearts and prayers to his
parents, Kyle and Pattie, his<br> grandparents, Richard
and Lynda, and the entire Petty family. The<br>
Pettys are an integral part of the sport of NASCAR. The
entire<br> NASCAR community will miss Adam Petty." -- NASCAR
president Bill<br> France. <br><br> "The brightest stars
often shine for a brief period of time. I'm glad<br> my
last memory of Adam was only a week ago, laughing
and<br> cutting up as we took part in the annual Kyle
Petty Charity<br> Motorcycle Ride Across America. Adam
was always smiling." --<br> Eddie Gossage, general
manager of Texas Motor Speedway, where<br> Petty made his
NASCAR Winston Cup Series debut last month. <br><br>
"Adam and I were joking around this morning right
before practice,<br> and then to have this happen is
unreal. This hurts. I was on the<br> motorcycle ride with
Kyle the week before last and we raised a lot<br> of
money for charity. The Pettys do a lot for other
people, and it<br> hurts that we can't do anything for
them right now." -- fellow<br> NASCAR Winston Cup
Series and NASCAR Busch Series Grand<br> National
Division driver Steve Park. <br><br> "It is a real blow to
hear this news. Adam and I came into this<br> sport at
roughly the same time, so I looked at him almost like
a<br> classmate. We shared a lot of interests and we
shared a lot of<br> laughs -- he was always smiling and
easygoing. <br><br> "It is a tremendous loss for everyone
associated with NASCAR<br> racing. I can't express how much
sorrow I feel for the Petty<br> family, but I know they
are strong and will pull through this<br> tragedy. I
want to send my deepest sympathies to the Petty<br>
family -- they have done so much for everyone in this
sport." --<br> Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR Winston Cup
Series driver <br><br> "He provided one of the most
memorable highlights in our 40-year<br> history when he won
here in his ARCA and superspeedway debut<br> in
October 1998. That was truly a special moment to see him
with<br> the entire Petty family in Victory Lane. This
untimely loss will<br> touch all of us deeply for a long
time to come." -- H.A. "Humpy"<br> Wheeler, president
and general manager of Lowe's Motor<br> Speedway at
Charlotte. <br><br> "To have someone so young and with such
a bright future ahead<br> of him die like this is a
hard thing to swallow. The Petty family has<br> helped
build this sport. It goes back to Lee, Richard and
Kyle, and<br> I know it would have continued with Adam.
They are almost like<br> royalty in our sport. For a
family that has done so much to this<br> sport and then
to have this happen is just terrible." -- NASCAR<br>
Winston Cup Series driver Johnny Benson. <br><br> "I
remember when he was born, and not long after that sitting
on<br> his granddaddy's shoulders in Victory Lane at the
Daytona 500. He<br> looked like he was a natural there,
and I've got the feeling he<br> started making plans
to get back to Victory Lane for the Daytona<br> 500
as fast as he could." -- NASCAR Winston Cup Series
driver<br> Sterling Marlin.