Kyle Petty — How The Death Of His Son Ended His Marriage
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Kyle Petty became a father again at 58 years old on June 4, 2018, with his new wife Morgan — after the NASCAR legend's life fell apart over the death of his son with first wife Pattie Petty!
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Kyle had married Morgan in 2015, having divorced Pattie in 2012 after 32 years of marriage. That was just a year after her diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease. The couple have two sons and a daughter — with Pattie saying that their marriage had never really recovered from their son Adam's tragic death in a racing accident in 2000.
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The 19-year-old, racing as #45, had died on impact after crashing into a wall while practicing for the Busch 200 NASCAR Nationwide Series at the New Hampshire International Speedway. “Losing Adam was our family’s worst nightmare, especially for Kyle,” Pattie said. “It changed Kyle, and changed our family dynamic in ways most people can never imagine.”
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Pattie also insisted that rumors in the racing world about Kyle’s cheating had nothing to do with their breakup. Although Pattie did admit that she wouldn’t be surprised if the claims were true, she added: “I don’t have any direct knowledge that Kyle has ever cheated, and another woman is certainly not the cause of our split.”
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“Kyle,” she added, “is a very confused and personally-conflicted man who’s been suffering for a long time with a series of unfortunate setbacks that were out of his control.” Pattie, meanwhile, was struggling both with Parkinson’s disease and being ousted from the nonprofit children’s camp she had co-founded in Adam’s honor.
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“I learned later that the general consensus among board members was the Parkinson’s disease had affected my decision-making abilities, and that I had completely lost all my wits, which couldn’t be further from the truth,” Pattie explains. “I could have fought their decision, but I didn’t because it was evident that they’d lost faith in me and what I had to offer the organization.”
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Pattie says her reason for stepping down quietly was the same reason Kyle walked away without a fight from Petty Enterprises after he was fired from his driver position of the No. 45 car after a company merger in 2008. “They lost faith in his ability to do the job on the track, so Kyle left without a fight,” Pattie said. “He was...basically stripped of the one thing outside of his family that he loved and cherished the most – racing.”
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Photo credit: Getty Images
Pattie says her reason for stepping down quietly was the same reason Kyle walked away without a fight from Petty Enterprises after he was fired from his driver position of the No. 45 car after a company merger in 2008. “They lost faith in his ability to do the job on the track, so Kyle left without a fight,” Pattie said. “He was...basically stripped of the one thing outside of his family that he loved and cherished the most – racing.”
“He was essentially fired by his father without pay,” Pattie added, saying the estranged couple had struggled with “a series of financial setbacks.” Kyle rebounded with a new career at NBC Sports, however, and began a new life with Morgan. Now they're starting their own family with son Overton Owens Petty, born one day after Kyle turned 58 years old.
Kyle Petty became a father again at 58 years old on June 4, 2018, with his new wife Morgan — after the NASCAR legend's life fell apart over the death of his son with first wife Pattie Petty!
Kyle had married Morgan in 2015, having divorced Pattie in 2012 after 32 years of marriage. That was just a year after her diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease. The couple have two sons and a daughter — with Pattie saying that their marriage had never really recovered from their son Adam's tragic death in a racing accident in 2000.
Photo credit: Getty Images
The 19-year-old, racing as #45, had died on impact after crashing into a wall while practicing for the Busch 200 NASCAR Nationwide Series at the New Hampshire International Speedway. “Losing Adam was our family’s worst nightmare, especially for Kyle,” Pattie said. “It changed Kyle, and changed our family dynamic in ways most people can never imagine.”
Photo credit: Getty Images
Pattie also insisted that rumors in the racing world about Kyle’s cheating had nothing to do with their breakup. Although Pattie did admit that she wouldn’t be surprised if the claims were true, she added: “I don’t have any direct knowledge that Kyle has ever cheated, and another woman is certainly not the cause of our split.”
Photo credit: Getty Images
“Kyle,” she added, “is a very confused and personally-conflicted man who’s been suffering for a long time with a series of unfortunate setbacks that were out of his control.” Pattie, meanwhile, was struggling both with Parkinson’s disease and being ousted from the nonprofit children’s camp she had co-founded in Adam’s honor.
Photo credit: Getty Images
“I learned later that the general consensus among board members was the Parkinson’s disease had affected my decision-making abilities, and that I had completely lost all my wits, which couldn’t be further from the truth,” Pattie explains. “I could have fought their decision, but I didn’t because it was evident that they’d lost faith in me and what I had to offer the organization.”
Photo credit: Getty Images
Pattie says her reason for stepping down quietly was the same reason Kyle walked away without a fight from Petty Enterprises after he was fired from his driver position of the No. 45 car after a company merger in 2008. “They lost faith in his ability to do the job on the track, so Kyle left without a fight,” Pattie said. “He was...basically stripped of the one thing outside of his family that he loved and cherished the most – racing.”
Photo credit: Getty Images
“He was essentially fired by his father without pay,” Pattie added, saying the estranged couple had struggled with “a series of financial setbacks.” Kyle rebounded with a new career at NBC Sports, however, and began a new life with Morgan. Now they're starting their own family with son Overton Owens Petty, born one day after Kyle turned 58 years old.
