NASCAR's Kyle Petty will lead convoy to mark groundbreaking of children's facility

NASCAR's Kyle Petty and more than 200 motorcyclists plan to roar into town today as part of ceremonial groundbreaking of Victory Junction's Midwest camp in Wyandotte County.

The groundbreaking is set for 2 p.m. on a 71-acre campus at 8205 Riverview in Kansas City, Kan., where Victory Junction's second year-round, medical camp for children with chronic medical conditions will be located.

Petty and his wife, Pattie, opened the original Victory Junction in Randleman, N.C., in 2004, for children ages six to 16, and the facility - free to all who attend - became so popular, the Pettys decided to build another in Kansas City.

The annual Chick-fil-A Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America, now in its 15th year, has been the camp's largest donor, contributing more than $12 million to Victory Junction and other children's charities since its inception.

"The Ride has provided so much support for Victory Junction over the years, we couldn't break ground on our second camp without the riders who have made it possible," said Petty, whose 10-day journey began in Stevenson, Wash., last Friday and will conclude at Victory Junction in Randleman on Sunday.

Victory Junction Midwest is a $35 million project. Construction is expected to begin early next year with the facility scheduled to open in summer 2011.

Next month, the project is expected to reach the $10 million mark in cash received, pledges and in-kind donations, including the land from the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City Kansas and the $1.5 million medical facility to be built by KBS Constructors, Inc., of Topeka, said Mike Lepore, president of Victory Junction Midwest.

"We're on schedule in spite of the economy and in spite of the recession, people have been very welcoming and very generous to us," Lepore said. "It's very gratifying. It doesn't surprise me that people have been generous and want us here. But I did think with all the uncertainty in the economy, that people would be less willing to part with cash and more willing to donate products, services or labor ... more in-kind than cash. But we're seeing a nice balance of both."

Though the opening of the Midwest camp is still more than a year from now, Lepore said Victory Junction Midwest plans to send two boys and three girls from the Kansas City area to the North Carolina facility during the week of June 21.

"The transportation is free, the camp is free, the medicine is free," he said. "It's a chance for them to experience the camp and come back and help us spread the word."

Those wishing to make donations to Victory Junction Midwest can go to www.victoryjunction.org.