Paralyzed Veteran Surprised With Indy Car Experience And Much More

We love a good feel-good story, and this one will certainly hit you all in the feels, in the best way possible. Not only do we get to see this veteran and his wife enjoy an awesome ride around the Brickyard, but there’s also a much bigger surprise awaiting him and his family afterward.

Nelson Samsel and his wife strapped into Chevrolet Camaros with a couple of guys you may have heard of to take laps around the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud put the Camaros through their paces, hitting triple digit speeds as they blasted around the massive track. Despite their best efforts, the professional wheelmen couldn’t shake the vet nor his wife, who certainly enjoyed the ride, but pushed the drivers to go faster! How could you not love this everyday couple pushing pro drivers to go faster!

After returning to the pits, Nelson chatted with Castroneves, discussing his love of driving and how he missed the freedom driving gave him. The couple owned a van that was fitted with ramps to allow them access, but the aging ride had become unreliable and seemed to be as much a hindrance as it was an asset.

That’s where Shell and Paralyzed Veterans of America stepped in, offering the couple a generous $40,000 toward the purchase of a new vehicle, as well as a one year supply of Shell V-Power Nitro+ premium gasoline. This will allow the couple to find a new ride that will they can have confidence in to get them wherever they want to go.

Their family joined them at the dealership, where they picked up a brand new accessible van that should provide them with many years of worry-free transportation and thanks to Shell, they won’t even have to pay for gas for the entire first year! If that doesn’t bring a tear to your eye, you may need to go get checked out for Grinch heart syndrome.