Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Petty may skip N.H. race again

Tuesday, July 17, 2001 | 10:18 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. Reach him at bh@lasvegassun.com or 259-4089.

Kyle Petty will not decide until later this week if he will drive in Sunday's New England 300 NASCAR Winston Cup race at New Hampshire International Speedway.

Petty's son, Adam, was killed during practice for a Busch Series race at New Hampshire 14 months ago. Kyle Petty skipped both races at the track last season following the tragedy.

"Kyle has not made a decision yet," Chip Williams, Petty's publicist, said Monday. "I don't anticipate an announcement until as late as Friday."

Petty considered skipping Sunday's race at Chicagoland Speedway because last Tuesday would have been Adam's 21st birthday. Petty admitted it was a tough week for him but elected to go to Chicago, where he failed to qualify for Sunday's race.

"This week has been a hard week because of Adam's birthday," Petty said last week in an interview. "There have been so many things this week that have brought back so many memories."

As a result, RJR no longer will sponsor the NHRA Drag Racing Series, to which it contributes about $4 million annually.

Since 1971, when RJR began sponsoring NASCAR's premier division through its Winston brand, the company has contributed more than $112 million in purse, bonus and prize-fund money.