In one of those awe-inspiring moments where we witness the willpower of some people, Ronnie Presnell took his fully restored 1968 Chevrolet Camaro coupe for a lap around the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Now, what makes this story amazing is that the 62-year old retired Mecklenburg County sheriff’s deputy is blind as he lost his eyesight in a severe car accident in 1998.

After the crash, Ronnie was in a coma for six-weeks and when he woke up, his wife broke the unfortunate news. Upon his return home, he told his spouse that he needed to work on a project. Being a car nut and a former dirt-track racer, Ronnie decided that he wanted to restore a ’68 Camaro. The quality of his work on Chevy’s classic pony car speaks for itself.

Not content with simply restoring the car, Ronnie set out to complete another dream, that of driving the Camaro on a NASCAR track. The chance came along on Wednesday with NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace acting as his pilot.

While Ronnie never actually went over 20mph, he did pick on Wallace. “I thought we were going to have to come into the pits to make an adjustment on Kenny,” commented Ronnie after the lap around the track. “We were booking down the backstretch about 130 [mph] and he was yelling to ‘slow down my heart’s skipping.”

“I always sat in the grandstands and wondered what it would be like to do that and now that I’m blind, I’m more determined than ever and that’s why I’m here today,” he added.

Good for you Ronnie.

Story References: WBTV

VIDEO