Pettys consider Kansas City for children’s camp: Kyle Petty and his wife, Pattie, founded the renowned Victory Junction Gang Camp in North Carolina to help children with chronic and terminal illnesses. Now they want to bring a similar camp to the Kansas City area. The Pettys laid the groundwork for a Midwest version of their camp at a meeting with top officials of Sprint, NASCAR, Kansas Speedway, Children's Mercy Hospital and other business and community leaders Thursday night at Sprint headquarters in Overland Park. "[Victory Junction] was built for children in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and parts of east Tennessee," Kyle Petty said. "All of a sudden, we've seen kids from 44 different states, and during the last two years the percentage of kids from west of the Mississippi is growing. That's created a quandary for us. When we see a kid from Phoenix or California, we pay for the transportation to fly the child from there. This way, they don't have to fly all the way to North Carolina. It makes the cost per child more economical." That's why Petty - who has a soft spot in his heart for Kansas City and for Sprint, which previously sponsored his Nextel Cup car as well as Adam Petty's car - convened some of the biggest movers and shakers in the sport. The meeting Thursday included NASCAR chairman Brian France, vice chairman James France, vice president Lesa France Kennedy and president Mike Helton; [Kansas Speedway president Jeff] Boerger; Sprint vice president Tom Murphy; Dean Kessel, director of NASCAR Nextel Cup Series marketing for Sprint; and officials from Children's Mercy Hospital.(Kansas City Star)