Hundreds of car fanatics were at the Saskatchewan International Raceway, just south of Saskatoon, on Sunday.
The roaring engines and melted tires are all a tribute to fifty-nine-year-old Robert Carignan.
“I woke up this morning having one of those ‘why me?’ days,” Carignan said. “Thanks to Kevin (Carignan) it turned out to be the highlight of my summer.”
Carignan lives with Kennedy’s disease, which limits his mobility and gradually gets worse.
His cousin Kevin has been encouraging him to do the things he loves while he still can, such as riding shotgun in a race car.
“I know he likes cars,” added Kevin Carignan. “I just thought this would be a great day. I love my cousin. He is my inspiration.”
With Kevin’s help, Robert is getting a ride with someone new — racer Sheri Gordon.
“I get a sense of joy in putting smiles on other people’s faces,” Gordon said.
As the disease progresses, Rob will become less able to enjoy the speed he loves so much. Before that happens, Kevin is trying to get Rob to go even faster.
“I’m trying to convince him to jump out of a plane,” Kevin said. ” I said I would do it with him. There are some places where you can tandem-jump and they can do paraplegic.”
Until the leap, Rob says he’s content with the race track.
“Two words — speed and fun,” Rob added. “It’s something that I can’t do anymore. It’s fun to be a part of.”
He says the engine revving is his favourite part.