(NewsNation) — Kyle Petty is nothing short of NASCAR royalty.
In 1948, his grandfather, Lee Petty, competed in the first official NASCAR race and won the inaugural Daytona 500. Kyle’s father, Richard Petty, went on to win that race a record seven times.
His uncle was a hall of fame engine builder, and Kyle followed in his family’s tire tracks, becoming the youngest driver to win a major-league stock car race and 200 more in his famed career.
The Petty NASCAR dynasty has not been without tragedy.
In 2000, Kyle’s 19-year-old son Adam was on his third lap in a practice race when his throttle got stuck, which led to a fatal crash. Months later, Kyle’s friend Dale Earnhardt Sr. died of similar injuries.
Earnhardt’s son famously got back behind the wheel a week later, in the same way that Kyle kept racing after losing Adam.
Kyle joined NewsNation’s “Banfield” on Monday night to discuss the driving force to keep going, even after such loss, and his new book “Swerve or Die: Life at My Speed in the First Family of NASCAR Racing.”
Watch the full interview in the video above.