10-06-2011, 06:03 AM | #1 |
Drives: 10 1LT SIM; 91 B4C sleeper Z Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Ft. Mitchell, Alabama
Posts: 7,199
|
You can do anything you put your mind to! Blind man and a Camaro
Limitations? What limitations?!?!
http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/stor...Wallace-100511 Ronnie Presnell crossed an item off his bucket list today at Charlotte Motor Speedway as the retired Mecklenburg County sheriff’s deputy, who lost his sight in 1998, took a spin around the superspeedway in his restored 1968 Chevrolet Camaro. SEEING IS BELIEVING Ronnie Presnell's achieves his vision by driving blind around NASCAR track. The 62-year-old Presnell received a bit of coaching during his cruise around the track from NASCAR driver and SPEED TV personality Kenny Wallace, who rode with Presnell and instructed him when to turn left or right. In 1998, a car accident left Presnell in a coma for six weeks. His injuries were so severe that he needed reconstructive surgery on his face and he permanently lost his eyesight. After he returned home from the hospital, he told his wife that he needed a project to work on. Presnell began restoring a 1968 Camaro, complete with 327 high-performance engine and Viper Red Metal Flake paint job, with the hopes of one day driving it around Charlotte Motor Speedway. Presnell’s ride around the track was the first time he had been behind the wheel of a street car since his accident. However, throughout his life Presnell, who lives in Mooresville, N.C., has spent plenty of time behind the wheel. He has racing in his blood, having competed in the Limited Sportsman division on local dirt tracks and at Metrolina Speedway in the Hobby division, the latter on the same nights as NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt. Presnell even won a race at Metrolina Speedway on the night before his accident. He built his own race cars and did all of the engine work himself. After his ride around Charlotte Motor Speedway, Presnell compared the experience to those from his racing days. “That sure felt different than driving a car on a dirt track,” Presnell said immediately after emerging from his Camaro. “It was awesome. I always wondered what it would be like to ride on the banking like that. It was more extreme than I thought it would be.” Though he joked that he wanted to “turn a lap fast enough to qualify for the Bank of America 500” on Oct. 15, Presnell and Wallace cruised around the track between 20 and 25 miles per hour. Presnell thanked Wallace for his help, but also joked that while the Camaro was handling well, he started to have concerns about his co-pilot. “I thought at one point we were going to have to come into the pits to make some adjustments on Kenny,” Presnell said. “A few times during the ride he kept saying ‘My heart’s skipping a beat.’ I was worried.” Following the ride in the Camaro, Presnell and Wallace swapped seats and Wallace gave Presnell a full-speed ride around Charlotte Motor Speedway in a Richard Petty Driving Experience stock car. “I loved the sound of the engine, it was awesome,” Presnell said. “It was a life lesson for me,” said Wallace. “I was so excited to help Ronnie out. This is a big deal for me, being able to meet him and help him fulfill his dream. He’s an inspiration and it’s a day I’ll never forget.”
__________________
Pedders Pace Car Package, Injen CAI, Flowmaster AT, AAC Lighting, ZL1 fascia/skirts, RKSport Ram Air hood, vented fenders, painted stripes (Gary's Customz), Honor and Valor badged (Thank you, John)
Last edited by garcmol; 10-06-2011 at 06:16 AM. |
10-06-2011, 06:31 AM | #2 |
Master of All Things
Drives: '20 Corvette Stingray Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Southeast of Houston, Texas
Posts: 22,331
|
only one word comes to mind.........WOW
now that is dedication to a goal.
__________________
|
10-06-2011, 07:27 AM | #3 |
Drives: 10 1LT SIM; 91 B4C sleeper Z Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Ft. Mitchell, Alabama
Posts: 7,199
|
I saw it on the news this morning and said the same thing. Wow!
__________________
Pedders Pace Car Package, Injen CAI, Flowmaster AT, AAC Lighting, ZL1 fascia/skirts, RKSport Ram Air hood, vented fenders, painted stripes (Gary's Customz), Honor and Valor badged (Thank you, John)
|
10-06-2011, 08:26 AM | #4 |
I'm not totally useless..
|
And kudos to Wallace for stepping in and doing that.
__________________
"You were really flyin' when I passed you back there!" - Born on 10/05/09 MyCamaroBuildInfo
|
10-06-2011, 01:46 PM | #5 |
EMERALD COAST CAMAROS
Drives: 2lt summit white dk gray int Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: niceville,florida
Posts: 673
|
that was awesome. I can't imagine rebuilding a car you can't see.
__________________
Big Bertha!
2010 summit white 2Lt cgm rally stripes,hot pink pin stripes,doug thorley shorties,pink bowties,led side markers,sequetial led tail lights,NLP spoiler,magnaflow axel back exhaust, AIRAID CAI(soon to be Vararam) |
10-06-2011, 03:39 PM | #6 |
xbox: this is tedious
|
Incredible stuff right there. Wow
__________________
Big Carrot's Changes - It's a work in progress |
10-06-2011, 06:43 PM | #7 |
Drives: 2011 2LT RJT Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Vinton,Va
Posts: 1,150
|
guess when you put your mind to it you can do anything.Great story
|
10-06-2011, 07:44 PM | #8 |
Drives: 2018 1LT RS V6 Nightfall Grey Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Willow Grove PA
Posts: 570
|
Well speed racer drove the mach 5 blind while racer x sat next to him and gave directions too.....but very impressive, good for him, that is pretty cool.
|
|
|
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
What song are you listening to right now | Muscle Master | Off-topic Discussions | 6743 | 04-25-2024 10:35 PM |
UNOFFICIAL CAUSE OF TRANNY OUT PUT SHAFT ISSUE | orangeinfernoman | Camaro Issues / Problems | Warranty Discussions | TSB and Recalls | 38 | 04-25-2011 08:25 PM |
Help! Dealership put swirl marks in my paint and has refused to fix them! | Alarick | 5th Gen Camaro SS LS LT General Discussions | 103 | 02-01-2011 06:53 AM |
cop threatened me to be put in jail for taking off smoking the tires at c5 feast | Ukd73 | 5th Gen Camaro SS LS LT General Discussions | 44 | 04-19-2010 02:21 PM |
how to put songs/playlists on thumbdrive | bob2the2nd | Audio, Video, Bluetooth, Navigation, Radar, Electronics Forum | 6 | 06-22-2009 07:30 PM |