The name ‘Petty’ commands respect and love unlike any other. One of the first people whom people think of when it is mentioned is the legendary Richard “King” Petty. And then there is Tom Petty, an iconic singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Somewhere down this line comes Richard’s son, Kyle Petty. It is Kyle’s strong interest in music that brings up the question of whether he is related to Tom.
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Music has always been a comfort zone for Kyle, and he almost made a career out of it before racing caught his eye. An interesting backstory is that he received his first guitar from a traveling preacher at a race track when he was 12 years old.
He once narrated, “I took lessons from a guy who taught me A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and A minor, B minor, C minor, and all that, and then he told me I needed to go learn them all, that he couldn’t teach anymore. So I just learned like 20 million other people by listening to others play.” He began writing his own music soon after and found influence in the likes of Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard.
Somewhere in the adrenaline rush that racing offered, he lost out on the chance to become a big name in the music world. But the guitar has been a constant presence by his side as his favorite creative outlet. With all this in mind, it would not be a surprise if he were somehow related to Tom. But he is not. Tom confirmed the same in a 2000 interview.
He’d been directly asked if he was related to Richard Petty. The answer came, “I don’t think I am, though he looks a great deal like my dad.” Tom was the leader and the frontman of the rock bands Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch. He was also a member of the Traveling Wilburys. Notably, he sold over 80 million records across the globe throughout his career.
This makes him one of the best-selling artists of all time. Petty and the Heartbreakers were given places in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2017, at the age of 66, due to an accidental drug overdose. Although he did not have a strong interest in NASCAR or any other form of motorsports, his music often has a cultural overlap with racing.
