Victory Junction: A Camp Where Kids Conquer Challenges and Embrace Possibility

Nestled on close to 550 acres in Randleman, North Carolina, outside of Greensboro, is a place where children with serious illnesses and chronic medical conditions can find temporary respite from the challenges they face.

It’s a place where they can spend several days enjoying nature, playing fun games, eating good food and making new friends – all at no cost to them or their families, thanks to the generous contributions of reliable donors.

This place is Victory Junction, a NASCAR-themed camp started by NASCAR’s legendary Petty family 21 years ago to put smiles on the faces of children who essentially need a break from being sick.

“We are a camp for every kid,” said Jonathan Lemmon, Victory Junction’s chief operating officer. “We want them to feel like they belong and that they can come be a kid. We’re going to take care of the medical things that are going on while they’re there. We’re going to make sure they have good, healthy, balanced nutritious meals. We’re also going to make sure it’s an environment where they can have the most fun.”

Since hosting its first campers in June 2004, Victory Junction has served tens of thousands of kids from all 50 states and several countries. Victory Junction’s traditional summer camps – open to ages 6-16 and each lasting four or five days – typically begin in early June and end in early August. Each week of camp is known as a “session” and is specifically designed for children with a particular diagnosis.

For example, one of the sessions in the summer of 2025 is for kids with cerebral palsy. Another is for children with diabetes. The full list of sessions is available at VictoryJunction.org.

Grouping campers allows Victory Junction to have the appropriate medical staff on-site each week. It also serves another very important purpose.

“Kids come to Camp and they go, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m not the only one that has this diagnosis,’ or ‘I’m not the only one that deals with going to the doctor to get dialysis every three days,’ or ‘I’m not the only one that deals with going to get chemo,’ or ‘I’m not the only one on a transplant list,’” Lemmon said. “They get to make that connection. In all the time I’ve spent at Camp, that is the most powerful thing to see. That’s because kids go from feeling like, ‘Hey, I’m alone in this’ to ‘not only am I not alone, but I keep making friends and I’m at a place where I can belong.’”

Popular attractions with Victory Junction campers include a zipline, a climbing tower, a horse barn, a petting zoo, arts and crafts, an on-site bowling alley and theater, a gym and an indoor baseball field. The most recent addition is a new waterpark paid for by the Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America. The $2.5 million project features a lazy river, splash pads, swimming areas and much more. Every Tuesday night in the summer, campers experience what’s known as the NASCARnival. This electrifying extravaganza includes carnival-style games, lots of sweet treats to eat and drink, and a live pit stop performed by a NASCAR team.

“That’s just a magical night,” Lemmon said. “That doesn’t happen anywhere else on the planet. It never gets old. But really, there’s something for everybody all day every day.”

None of this would be possible, however, without a team of dedicated staff members and volunteers. Each week in the summer, Victory Junction needs between 40 and 60 volunteers to perform a range of jobs ranging from that of cabin counselor to lifeguard.

Volunteers can serve up to three weeks in the summer, and their meals and lodging are free. Paid staff members, which typically include many teachers and college students, serve at each of the camp’s nine summer sessions and arrive early to participate in a training and orientation program. Their meals and lodging are likewise at no cost.

“Every year I ask the summer team, ‘Why do you want to work here?’” Lemmon said. “They say, ‘I want to make a difference in somebody’s life.’ I’m like, ‘That’s awesome. That’s going to happen. But what you may not realize is that these kids are going to change your life way more than you expect.’ 

“That’s never failed me. Every year, the staff comes up to me at the end of the summer and they go, ‘You were right.’ As long as that keeps happening, we’re going to keep doing camp.”To sign up to camp, volunteer or join the summer staff, and to learn more about Victory Junction’s application process and program offerings, including its family weekend camps and day programs, visit VictoryJunction.org.

NASCARnival Takes the Fun to a Whole New Level At Victory Junction

Check out the latest episode of Out of the Groove to meet Chad Coltrane, CEO of Victory Junction, and hear about the history of Victory Junction’s founding by the legendary Petty family.

Imagine a warm summer night with bountiful cotton candy, friendly dance competitions, hot air balloon rides, Krispy Kreme doughnuts, buttery popcorn, and lots of ice cream.

Now, imagine it all happening at a NASCAR-themed carnival – appropriately dubbed “NASCARnival” – staged smack dab in the middle of a scenic 550-acre property belonging to NASCAR’s most royal family, the Pettys.

For children with serious and chronic medical conditions who come to Victory Junction camp in Randleman, North Carolina, for a few days in June, July, or early August, this is the scene for about two-and-a-half hours on a Tuesday night during the week of their camp stay.

Oh, and there’s also the frequent appearance at NASCARnival by Victory Junction’s co-founders – NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty and his son, former NASCAR driver turned broadcaster Kyle Petty – who mix and mingle with the campers while posing for pictures, signing autographs, and just soaking in all the fun. Last but certainly not least, every NASCARnival features live pit stops performed by the pit crew of a well-known NASCAR team. NASCAR drivers often stop in as well.

“It really is sort of the pinnacle of the camp week for the staff, the volunteers, and the campers,” said Nathan Unwin, camp program director at Victory Junction. “Everybody is comfortable by that point in the week, and so it’s really a night we look forward to throughout that day. The party really starts at dinner time. 

“The campers, the staff, the volunteers come into the dining hall, and it’s really got that carnival atmosphere on a Tuesday. It just feels different when you come into dinner on a Tuesday. We have pizza, and everybody knows NASCARnival night is pizza night. The vibes are good.”

Of course, the same is true for the entire four or five days that children will spend at Victory Junction, which over its 21-year existence has served more than 10,000 young people with serious and chronic medical conditions – helping them build confidence, foster independence and discover their incredible potential.

That said, NASCARnival takes the fun and excitement of camp to a whole new level.

“We do something called a ‘car wash’ where we have two lines on each side of the room and there’s like a parade that comes through the middle of the room so our campers get to show off their dance moves with the staff,” Unwin said of NASCARnival. “And every time I’ve been here, the pit crew has gotten involved and danced with the kids, too. It is just a real party atmosphere already built in.”

After the dinner and dancing, everyone heads outside to be wowed by timed pit stop demonstrations and some revving of a real-life race car’s engine. After the pit stop, the true “carnival” portion of the evening begins. That’s when the tethered hot air balloon rides, various games, and an assortment of edibles become the focus.

“We have fake tattoos, and there’s usually a soccer game going on, or a basketball game,” Unwin said. “We have a pie in the face, we have a dunk tank where the campers can dunk the counselors. There are plenty of treats for the kids to enjoy. There’s also usually a no-hands doughnut-eating competition. The campers and counselors will put the doughnuts on the table and see who can eat them with no hands.

“It’s just a real party, carnival atmosphere. There’s a lot going on to keep the kids entertained, making them feel like they’re at that carnival. They’re being celebrated, we’re celebrating our connections to NASCAR, and it’s just so much fun. It’s really something to be a part of that evening.” 

If you know a camper who would have fun at Victory Junction, would like to help a child attend camp, or want to volunteer visit VictoryJunction.org/Discover.

A Family Legacy: How the Pettys Built a Haven for Kids

Since its genesis in 2004, Victory Junction – a Randleman, North Carolina-based year-round camp for children with serious illnesses and chronic medical conditions – has delivered more than 136,000 camp experiences while serving kids from all 50 states and several countries.

Synonymous with the Petty name, especially that of legendary co-founders Richard and Kyle Petty, Victory Junction – or a place like it – is the culmination of a vision cast by Richard’s grandson and Kyle’s son, Adam, before he died tragically at the age of 19 in a racing accident at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Before Adam’s passing in May 2000, he had drawn inspiration from a visit he made to a Florida-based camp that was enriching the lives of sick children. Wanting to make a similar type of impact back home in North Carolina, Adam shared his idea with family members and close friends.

So, not long after Adam’s death, Richard and Kyle Petty, along with other members of the Petty family, set out to build Victory Junction – a camp established in Adam’s memory, with the goal of reaching and helping as many children as possible.

“When I see the joy and the smiles this camp brings to kids and their families, I can still feel Adam’s giving spirit and see his smile,” said Kyle Petty, a former NASCAR Cup Series driver turned NASCAR broadcaster.

Chad Coltrane, Victory Junction’s CEO since 2015, is motivated daily by a desire to carry out Adam Petty’s wishes in everything that goes on at Victory Junction.

“I didn’t know Adam, and I had never met Adam, but I heard the story about how this idea of camp came about and this idea of all the kids coming to Randleman and being served in one location,” he said. “I hope he would be shocked at how many kids we actually see here on-site now through all the different programs, and that he would be inspired by the numbers of kids that we serve.”

This year alone, Victory Junction has received more than 850 applications for its summer camp experiences, which begin in June and run through early August. Each week of camp is tailored to children with a different medical condition, providing not only a welcome distraction from the daily challenges they face but also making a difference that extends far beyond the four or five days they spend at camp.

“We know through data and research, with Yale University as an example, that the work we’re doing is life-changing,” Coltrane said. “We know the kids leave camp with more self-confidence and more self-esteem and a willingness to try new things. We’ve done a study with kids that now are in their 30s, so now adults, and we know there is a longer-lasting impact of camp than that summer camp experience.

“It’s longer than the summer when they return home or the school year after. We know that it stays with them until at least their 20s and 30s. It’s a strong, strong mission.”

A nonprofit organization that relies on generous donors, Victory Junction is the sole beneficiary of the Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America – an annual cross-country motorcycle event that’s welcomed more than 9,000 riders and raised more than $22 million since its 1995 inception.

“Our camp footprint is larger than most camps, and it’s because of NASCAR and the Petty name and celebrity but mainly because of the advocacy that the Kyle Petty Charity Ride provides for us across the country at various locations year over year,” Coltrane said.

Kyle and Richard Petty both sit on the Board of Directors for Victory Junction, but their involvement runs much deeper. Not only are they regulars at camp during the summer, often mixing and mingling with the children at a fun-filled camp event dubbed NASCARnival, but Richard Petty recently donated 403 acres to Victory Junction.

The gift includes eight parcels of land next door to what had been the camp’s 140 acres, 84 of which Richard and his late wife, Lynda, donated to help launch Victory Junction. “My family and I are dedicated to leaving a legacy,” said Richard Petty, a seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and the Cup Series’ all-time wins leader with 200
victories. “By donating an additional 403 acres, we hope to ensure the camp can continue serving even more children for generations to come.”

Coltrane called the additional land “a huge deal.”

“To be given that land at this point is a game-changer, and we’re being very meticulous and methodical in our planning and preparation of what we’re going to do with it,” he said. “Much like a university would, we want to create kind of a master plan and really just go about this in a slow and methodical and thoughtful way.”