“Most of the questions people ask me are odd. I attract those kinds of questions,” Petty said. “But there’s nothing off limits or out of bounds. That’s how that works.”
Petty is the featured guest at the Nov. 27 event at Romer’s Banquet Facility in St. Henry. Petty has been to the area before, including attending the Prelude to the Dream late model charity event at Eldora Speedway.
“You may have the highest concentration of race fans in the country right there, that’s for sure,” Petty said. “To be able to talk to fans and tell stories and take questions … is always fun for me.”
So, what kind of questions do racing fans toss his way?
“The bathroom question is always the No. 1 question,” he said. “How do you go to the bathroom when driving for 500 miles? It’s crazy. I’ve been asked what’d you have for breakfast? What was the hotel room you slept in last night like? They’ll ask everything.”
As for autographs, Petty was caught off guard with one request. A fan asked Petty to sign his dog.
“I quit doing body parts,” he said. “You know what? I signed a hairless chihuahua one time. This guy was going around the track getting people to sign it. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh I am signing a dog.’”
The event, now in its 21st year, has raised more than $210,000 for the Chamber, the State of the Heart Hospice and Community Health Professionals Hospice.
With the event in the shadows of Eldora Speedway, Petty figures the NASCAR Truck Series might also come up. Eldora hosts the only dirt race among NASCAR’s three major national series and last week agreed with NASCAR on a five-year contract.
“That truck race has quickly become one of the marquee events of the Trucks Series,” Petty said. “I did an interview and the guy asked me if I watched the race. I said are you kidding me? That’s a pizza party night when they run that race. Everybody watches the truck race. … That’s old-school to me. It’s pretty amazing to watch that.”
Along with Petty, dirt late model driver Rusty Schlenk and sprint car driver Dallas Hewitt will also be guests and sign autographs. A buffet dinner and memorabilia auction will be held.
Tickets are available and must be purchased prior to the event by calling the Celina-Mercer County Chamber of Commerce at 419-586-2219. A ticket costs $50.
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