Wednesday, November 21st 2012, 10:08 pm
As we give thanks this holiday, one Green Country teen is thankful for wonderful friends.
The Wagoner native has cancer and his buddies pulled off a huge surprise to lift his spirits.
News On 6 was there for the Oklahoma moment.
Racing cousins Evan and Alex Sewell know cars.
"I've been awake for five weeks straight," Evan said.
Over the past five weeks they've spent countless hours on this Super Focus midget race car, and it's all for 19-year-old Shane Weeks.
"He cares about other people, for sure. He's a unique little guy," Evan said.
Shane has cancer and he loves car racing. That's how Evan and Alex met him.
"When you are little growing up eating dirt in the pits, it's all you want to do," Evan said.
The Sewells wanted to cheer Shane up.
"A guy always wants to step up and climb the ladder in racing to drive a bigger car and Shane was bummed out he wasn't really following the rest of us up," Evan said.
They decided to build him a race car from the ground up and the racing world supported them.
"I got a 100 text messages the day of, just asking, ‘What can I do?'" Evan said.
Car parts and donations came from Tulsa, Owasso, and as far away as Indiana and California. Every sticker represents a donor.
"We bought the whole car for cheaper than what we'd pay to paint it," Evan said.
Retail for the car is more than $30,000.
"I would have done it for him no matter what. If he had the flu, I would have still built this race car for him if I could have," Evan said.
All that hard work led to this moment. Shane thought he was going to a party for other racers, until his friends revealed it was all for him.
"I was speechless; I didn't know what to say. I was just shocked," Shane said.
He said he thought it was a joke.
"I can't believe that's my midget. I've been dreaming all the time for a midget to get a chance to drive one, I'm just surprised," Shane said. "I'm shocked. I know I'm loved by several."
And those loving faces will be there when his dream of racing his car comes true.
Shane plans to race his new car in the Tulsa Shootout in January.
November 21st, 2012
September 29th, 2024
April 15th, 2024
October 11th, 2024
October 10th, 2024
October 10th, 2024
October 10th, 2024