Adam Petty is dead, and he was only 19 years old, and the air is gone from a sport and a family of racers and the family of racing. Fifteen years ago one of Nascar's rising stars was killed when the accelerator of his car got stuck and he crashed into a wall at a racetrack. Kyle and Pattie Petty started the Victory Junction Gang Camp for chronically ill children in Randleman, N.C. in 2004 in memory of their son Adam, who was killed in a racecar crash in 2000. On May 12, 2000, 19-year-old Adam Petty is killed in a practice crash prior to a Busch 200 race at New Hampshire International Speedway, slamming into the Turn 3 wall at nearly 130 mph.
On May 12, 2000, Adam Petty, the fourth-generation driver of NASCAR's first family of racing, died after crashing into a wall during a practice session at New Hampshire International … Winston Cup driver Kenny Irwin dies in similar fashion, in the same turn, eight weeks later. Adam Petty was 19. Adam Kyler Petty (July 10, 1980 – May 12, 2000) was an American professional racing driver. basilar skull fracture as his head and neck snapped violently forward upon impact
The son of Kyle Petty, he was widely expected to become the next great Petty, following in the footsteps of his father, grandfather Richard, and great-grandfather Lee. In May 2000, 19-year-old Adam Petty was killed when his throttle got stuck and his car slammed into the outer wall of a track.

Adam Kyler Petty (July 10, 1980 — May 12, 2000) was the first fourth-generation driver in NASCAR history. Petty was born in High Point, North Carolina into stock car racing "royalty." He was the fourth generation from the Petty family to drive in races in the highest division of NASCAR racing. He is believed to be the first fourth-generation athlete in all of modern American professional sports.