"There's not many ways to explain it, it was just completely somber, shock, disbelief. It was one of those things that just doesn't, couldn't happen to somebody that's that good of a guy. It was just so hard to swallow. To be honest, it's hard to remember. It was so bad it's kind of hard to remember because you just want to block it out so bad. The thoughts that were going through your mind was so much disbelief. It was so hard to deal with. Adam was so full of life and just awful happy to be where he was. He knew how lucky he was, and he made everyone else realize it, too."
~Hank Parker Jr.
"There was something missing, for sure, that whole weekend. I didn't actually find out about Adam's death untilafter qualifying. It was, to say the least, a shock to everybody. You know, you experience death throughout your life with different people and relatives, and most of the situations I've had to deal with have been someone who's sick or old and you've had time to prepare for it. But something that sudden and someone that young just totally caught me off guard and everyone else, too, I guess. So the weekend went on and everybody was literally in a state of shock. We didn't want to be there. None of us wanted to be there. None of us wanted to race, none of the officials wanted to officiate and NASCAR didn't want to be there. But we had to. That's what Adam would have wanted, for the race to go on. The Pettys wanted the race to go on. After I had won the race, all you really thought about was you wanted to be happy, but you couldn't, you were sad. It was tough for me, I hadn't won a race in a couple years, so I had a lot of emotion, but I had emotion for Adam, too. The loss we all felt I think overwhelmed everything else. Every time I see the 45 car that his Dad's driving I think of Adam. I'm getting ready to do Kyle's Charity Ride again and we had so much fun on that last year. Now I think about how Adam's not gonna be there this year - that big smile. Any time you seen Adam he had a big smile on his face. It didn't matter what the situation was. Adam lived to drive race cars, period. A lot of people that don't know him say, hey, he's a Petty. That's what he's supposed to do. Even though he was a Petty, that kid, he was crazy about it. He loved it. He wanted to show everyone he could drive and make a name for himself. He wanted to show that Adam Petty could do it. He was so determined. A lot of people might not know that because he was so young, and he never got a chance to establish a career and show people how really, really serious he was. That bothers me a lot. When we were at Texas I thought about Adam making his first Winston Cup race and how happy he was about that. So everywhere you go you have a memory of him, especially going into New Hampshire. Not only Adam, but Kenny (Irwin) as well. This is our first time back in the Busch cars since both accidents happened, so I think everybody's gonna be a little uneasy going in there and definitely reflecting back on Adam and Kenny."
~Tim Fedewa~
"There's no hiding it that Kyle and all of Petty Enterprises really, had a plan. And that plan, of course, centered around Adam.I think that that plan made a lot of sense to everyone involved. May 12th last year, that plan changed dramatically. Kyle, The King, Pattie and Lynda, those people are the only ones who can say what the ultimate plan has changed to. I think that for me, it's been really difficult because I feel close to the Petty organization, I feel close to the family, and I feel like I was going to get to be a part of somebody's future and significant future. Anybody who knows the Pettys, you can't help but feel a huge emptiness, knowing what kind of people they are and how good they are. Adam was Petty through and through. You couldn't help but really like Adam Petty. I'm more than 15 years older than Adam, and I felt like we were the same age. I'm just a few years behind Kyle, and Kyle and he were the ultimate buddies. It's something that can never be righted. Nobody looks to do that. Words can't express what you feel or where it all goes. The only thing that has changed is I'm probably more driven to be successful than ever because then I can still feel like I was doing something for somebody, that being the Petty family and, more specifically, Adam. Nothing would be more important to me than to see Kyle Petty start winning races. He's worked so hard on this team, and he and his family have bored such a load. It's real difficult. You spend a whole year thinking about it, and you still can't talk about it and have it make sense."
~John Andretti~
"He was just happy to be there, and that toothy, ear-to-ear grin made everyone else take a step back and realize how lucky they were to be there, too. Adam was well aware that only a select few people are fortunate enough to do what they love to do for a living."
~Marty Smith, NOL writer~
"It doesn't heal. I told people all year. It just gets worse the more time that’s gone by. It’s gotten worse. It’s gotten worse for me to see how much harder each week gets, to see Kyle suffering each week without him. I think everybody thinks time heals things but that’s not always the case. ... We have talked to a lot of parents who have lost children and they will tell you the same thing. People who haven’t had a great loss think time heals things, but this is one of those situations that time doesn’t heal."
~Pattie Petty~
"The 12th of every month is a bad day," he added. "I can tell you that straight up. Every day it’s the 12th is bad; it doesn’t make any difference what day it falls on. That’s a harder day for me."
~Kyle Petty~
"I wish I could thank Adam right now for the effect he has had on my life. I would tell him that he has shown me the need to value and live for today because tomorrow is not promised. I am writing for Frontstretch.com at this very moment because Adam showed me that dreams cannot wait."
~Jenni Thompson, frontstretch.com writer~
"The only thing that mattered was that Adam had been taken away from us, before he even had a chance to live his life to the fullest. He was a tremendous kid, with a good, Christian heart, and the shock of his death still looms large even a year later."
~Shawn A. Akers, PR for Andy Santerre~
"It just reminds you of what we thought could have happened. From the standpoint of Petty Enterprises and the Petty family, we looked at Adam as our future just like when my father was racing and people looked to me for the future, and like me looking at Kyle as the future. All of a sudden that wasn’t our future. Emotionally, we just have to block that out as much as we can."
~Richard Petty~
"But racing did need Adam: not for wins, or continuing the Petty tradition, but for his humbleness, friendliness, and smiling face. For the person he was!"
~Art O'Neil, writer for stockcarcity.com~
