Broken hand proof Petty still has competitive fire

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Kyle Petty's done some stupid things in the past, like the time he crashed his motorcycle into a telephone pole guy wire and fractured his ankle, then had to crawl home, ring the doorbell and have his mother drive him to the hospital.

"Oh, I've done a lot stupider things," Petty said, showing off the white cast that covers his right wrist and last two fingers. "Believe me, I'm 47, so this doesn't even move the needle on stupid."

Still, hitting a cabinet door in frustration is a stupid way to end up with a broken hand, an injury that sidelined him for this weekend at Michigan. Chad McCumbee -- who subbed in Petty's No. 45 Dodge at Pocono -- had the slowest qualifying time (180.582 mph) of the 48 drivers but will start Sunday's 3M Performance 400 in the 42nd-position based on owner points.

McCumbee gets call

Chad McCumbee will make his second career Cup start Sunday at Michigan. He finished 25th in his first start, subbing for Petty in the No. 45 at Pocono in June.

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"I knew it was broke as soon as it hit," Petty admitted. "It was just a freak deal.

"I've been a lot madder and lot more frustrated at other times. I don't mind punching cabinets, it's out of the public view. But this one was definitely stupid, but a freak way to do it."

Once he realized the hand was broken, Petty faced a difficult decision. He could have it reset -- and face four to six weeks of recuperation. Or he could have an operation to add a plate and screws and be back more quickly.

"They operated on it on Tuesday morning and put a plate in it and put four screws in it," Petty said. "It's doing a lot better, I'm a lot more mobile [Friday] than I was.

"The reason [the cast] is so big is because I've had surgery on it, so part of this is the bandage for the wound, more so than for the broken hand. Hopefully I'll be back in the car in 10, 14 days."

So would that mean driving at Bristol?

"At this juncture right now, yeah, Bristol is still on my list," Petty said. "But I'll be honest with you, until we really went in and put the plate and the pins in it, this place was still on my list. Because I didn't think this place would be hard on you at all.

"It's just the angle that my hand is set. Obviously I can't grab anything and I can't do anything. The open wound and the stitches become an issue for the safety of my hand as much as the broken bone did."

Petty said he wouldn't return to the cockpit until he's fully ready. He has no interest in winding up with a permanent disability.

Still, it's almost hard to believe that Kyle Petty would throw a temper tantrum. That seems as likely as Kevin Harvick and Juan Montoya exchanging Christmas cards.

"I've always been this way, ask my crew," Petty said. "Why do you think so many people quit working for me? Because I just scream at them all the time.

"I'm not a choir boy. ... That's the funny part about this sport. I think everybody wants everybody to be choir boys and when Tony [Stewart] speaks out and they speak their mind and you have instances that happened with Harvick and Montoya last week. That's just adrenaline, the passion of being in the moment and wanting to win a race."

Petty said, if anything, the incident proved to him that he still has the competitive fire.

"That's the funny part," Petty said. "People always say, 'How much longer you going to do this?' But obviously if I like [racing] enough to punch a wall then I'm going to be here a few more years.

"Like I said, one day I'll wake up and not want to ride around in circles anymore and I'll just quit."