By Mark Brumley

• Introduction
• A Petty family project
• Big hearts helped build it
• For more information
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A Petty family project

Founding and developing the camp in honor of their late son, Adam, were NASCAR driver Kyle Petty and his wife, Pattie. Adam Petty was a fourth-generation driver killed in a crash during a practice run at New Hampshire International Speedway on May 12, 2000.

The camp is located on 75 rural acres donated by Adam’s grandparents, racing icon Richard Petty and his wife, Lynda.

But the Pettys haven’t stood alone in making their dream camp a reality. Victory Junction is the fifth of screen legend and philanthropist Paul Newman’s Association of Hole in the Wall Gang Camps in the United States. Newman founded the first camp in Connecticut in 1988.

Although Kyle Petty said the family thought about naming the camp Petticoat Junction or Mayberry, they settled on Victory Junction because it conjured images of racing. That racing theme ties the entire camp together. One of the most visible buildings is Adam’s Race Shop, located in a building shaped like a stock car. With racing simulators, the shop is where kids will learn about the sport.

The equestrian center, with a roof like a circus big top and sheltered riding rings, is called the Horsepower Garage. The Fuel Stop is the dining hall. The pool even has a giant motorcycle that revs and squirts water on swimmers. At the heart of the camp is an oval race track which is kind of like Main Street.

“Even the things that a kid would expect from an ordinary summer camp experience, we’ve gone over the top on those things,” Brian Collier said. Victory Junction’s state-of-the-art medical clinic has a full-time medical staff, but brings in additional doctors and nurses depending on the disease groups of the kids visiting the camp for the week.

“What we’re doing here at Victory Junction is a medically sound, empowering environment for these kids to have fun,” said Pattie Petty.