Subway Fresh 500 - Kyle Petty Notes

Kyle Petty Notes, Quotes: Phoenix 500
'Phoenix in April is Just Part of Change'

This weekend, Kyle Petty and the #45 Georgia-Pacific/Brawny Dodge team head to the one-mile Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway for Saturday's Phoenix 500. It is the first time the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series has visited the flat desert oval in the month of April. Phoenix was awarded a second race last season. Petty will be making his 17th career start at the speedway.

Petty, 44, will be making his 720tth career start this weekend. He is 10th on the all-time list in NASCAR Cup career starts, and fourth among active drivers. His eight career victories place him 45th on NASCAR's all-time list in Cup wins. One of the most recognizable names in international motorsports, as is his sponsor, Georgia-Pacific, Petty's driving career began with a five-race season in 1979. The native of Level Cross, N.C., has won over $21 million.

The thoughts of Georgia-Pacific/Brawny Dodge driver Kyle Petty heading into Phoenix:

"Hey man, I don't mind being where it's sunny and warm, especially in April. Phoenix is fine with me. Being in a desert beats being some place where it's cold and raining. I get to ride my Victory (motorcycle) out there from Texas with a couple of the guys and that's fine. We're doing it for fun. If nothing else, it's good practice for the Chick-Fil-A Charity Ride too. You just have to take advantage of the schedule. There's nothing wrong with going out there in April.

"There's nothing wrong with going to Phoenix twice at all really. It's a great city, a good track, and a major market. It makes sense to come out here. It's just different. It was different at Texas too, but did anyone make a big deal out of it on Sunday? Not really. It was just another race at Texas. I think we'll see the same thing at Phoenix. It's just another race at Phoenix that happens to be in April. Will there still be a winner? Does it pay the same amount of points? Sure, so in that way, it's just another race.

"Look, you just can't let things surprise you in this sport. There is too much happening and too much changing. It's been like this for a while. Everything changes. The sponsors, the drivers, the teams, the race dates, you name it. I don't care what it is. Eventually something is going to change in our sport. It's the way it is. You just take it in stride and move along. If you don't, you get left behind.

"You just have to learn to adapt to the changes. Last year at this time, no, I wasn't going to be on my bike riding it out there from Texas. We were doing something different. Things changed, and now we can do something fun like that. You can memorize all the drivers, the numbers, the paint schemes and sponsors this season, but you'll have to do it again next February too. There is just always going to be a change and you have to keep up with it.

"You have to keep up with everything in this sport. We fell victim to that for a while, but we're coming back from it. We're having a better year this season than last season. We made changes, and made improvements to the areas we felt we needed to improve on. We think those changes have immediately helped us. Evernham Engines, working closely with Dodge, hiring Paul Andrews - all those things really helped us immediately. It's just part of the process of change. We had some weak areas that needed to be improved and we made changes to get better. As a whole, that's the way this sport works.

"It doesn't matter if you're running a race team, a track or whatever. You have to keep pace to keep on top, or to try to get to the top. That's why there is competition, and that's why this sport is so competitive. Everyone is trying to have or get the best of everything. With that comes change in many different areas. You make the best of it and keep moving forward.

"NASCAR does it, teams do it, and everyone trying to get ahead is going to keep making changes to stay on top. You make a change, hope it works, and move along. Going to Phoenix is a part of that process. We've done it at Petty Enterprises too. So far, this #45 Georgia-Pacific/Brawny Dodge team has responded well to the changes. We've made great improvements. Hopefully we'll make more this weekend in Phoenix."