Charity Ride stops in Batesville, AR

The 15^th anniversary Chick-fil-A Kyle Petty Charity Ride was a 3,500-mile trek from the state of Washington to Greensboro, N.C May 8-17, 2009.   The Ride Across America raises awareness of and funds for Victory Junction and other charities supporting chronically ill children. The Ride is one of the most successful and popular charity events in NASCAR. Now in its 15^th year, the Ride has donated more than $12 million to children’s charities, with 6,100 participants logging more than 7.9 million cumulative motorcycle miles. 

The Ride left Kansas City, MO Thursday morning, May 14, and arrived in Bad Boy Mowers’ hometown of Batesville, AR on Thursday night for an overnight stay.  Batesville’s Mayor, Rick Elumbaugh, presented Kyle Petty with a key to the city, and Petty said he couldn’t wait to brag about it to friend, Mark Martin.

Bad Boy Mowers was a sponsor of this year’s Ride.  Supper, on Thursday, was served at Bill Davis’s Chimney Rock Cattle Company ranch.  The meal was prepared by Lance Landers, co-owner of Mark Martin Ford Mercury.    After the meal, participants and visitors were invited to an auction where items such as Talladega tickets, an unborn calf, and water park features located at Victory Junction Gang Camp were auctioned off.  The Charity Ride participants were served breakfast on Friday morning at Mark Martin Ford Mercury that was again prepared by Mark Martin Ford Mercury co-owner, Lance Landers.

The most notable riders that were present in Batesville included PGA golfer Davis Love III, former Dallas Cowboys player Hershel Walker, Chick-fil-A CEO Dan T. Cathy, Kyle Petty, Robert D. Rayford from the John Boy & Billy “Big Show”, and evangelist Franklin Graham.

Below are photos and captions taken from Kyle Petty’s Twitter page while visiting Batesville.

“MARK MARTIN’S hometown, Batesville, AR. They LOVE Mark here.”  May 14^th

“Headed to Bill and Gail Davis’ for dinner. Haven't see them since they sold their team.”  May 14th

“Headed over to MARK MARTIN’S MUSEUM for breakfast. Bill and Gail’s place was great last night. You should see their barn.”  May 15th

“Mark Martin’s Museum is one of the coolest museums I've been to for a driver. Check it out if you have a chance. He’s the MAN.”   May 15th

Southside-Batesville Elementary students cheering on riders.

Arkansas' Ozark Mountains

According to Kyle Petty, Arkansas roads are our "best kept secret".