ROCKY MOUNT - Chad McCumbee has not been given a silver spoon, but the 23-year-old soon will be handed the keys to the car he has wanted to drive most of his life.

When Kyle Petty trades in the firesuit for a suit and tie for Sunday's Pocono 500, McCumbee will slide into the No. 45 Dodge as Petty's replacement.

Petty will be calling the race from the broadcast booth for TNT, and McCumbee will be making left turns below on the track.

The kid from Supply, a crossroads of a town not far from Wilmington, will be at the pinnacle of his racing world.

"I'm really excited," McCumbee said in May at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord. "It's just such a blessing to be a part of Petty Enterprises; a great group of people here.

''It's just an honor to drive the No. 45 car up at Pocono, and I'm really looking forward to it."

Usually, when someone gushes about an opportunity, the cynics think it's a bit phony. McCumbee makes it easy to believe, though.

He's only a few years removed from running late-model stocks in Myrtle Beach, S.C., only about 45 miles south of his hometown -- and without a good sense of direction toward his dream to race with talents such as Petty or Dale Earnhardt Jr.

"I'll tell you what," McCumbee said, "it's a tough sport. It really is, when you don't have a lot of financial backing, and it's tough to get to where you want to go.

"It's cutthroat sometimes, but I'm glad it took this long to get to this point because I'm so excited about being associated with the Pettys. These guys are just so unbelievable. ... I'm just looking forward to the future."

McCumbee's future may be dictated by what he does Sunday on the track, but he doesn't want to look at it that way.

"I'm going to try to do what I was hired to do: Get the car up front if possible, and finish the race," McCumbee said. "I know I've got a lot of learning to do, and I'm more than ready to start learning. It's just a really good opportunity for me, and I really think if things go well, I'm excited about the future over here."

He started his climb with low-budgeted teams, which taught him to be patient.

His runs earned him an ARCA ride, which he parlayed into his full-time ride on the Craftsman Truck Series circuit.

He has raced on the ARCA series at Pocono three times -- and finished all three in the top five. He'll put that streak to the test Sunday.

"It seems like it's taken awhile to get here, but you know what, I've really been fortunate. It's only been two or three years since I've been doing this professionally. It's really been a blessing."

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