Evans drove the first 72 miles of the 1000-mile trek before reluctantly giving way to relief driver, Brian Stewart. Then he listened to radio reports as Stewart went on to win the production sedan class by more than four-and-a-half hours. In the end, that win gave Evans the 1989 Class 6 crown! In addition, the off-road racing community recognized his courage and talent and bestowed Evans with the "Off Roadsman Award" and "Driver Of The Year" honors.

"I like to think I am doing some good," said Evans, who was overwhelmed by the award, but uncomfortable at being regarded as heroic. "All it takes is the will to want to do something badly enough. I'm the same person, I just can't walk anymore."

The accident that so dramatically altered Evans' life occurred when he was riding his motorcycle near his home in Riverside, CA. Evans and a passenger were thrown from the bike when they hit a ditch that had been dug for a construction project. "When the doctors told me my spinal cord had been severed, it was my worst nightmare come true," said Evans. "But I decided then and there, I was not going to give up."

The son of off-road racing legend, Walker Evans, Evan developed an interest in the sport at any early age. He began racing motorcycles, then moved to go-karts, and finally to off-road racing as a mechanic and co-driver. Campaigning an old Datsun pickup in 1988 was an invaluable aid to Evans' career development. "That truck was too ancient and slow to win anything," he said with a smile. "But it taught me a lot. I learned how to be patient, how to take care of my equipment , and how to get to the finish line."

He finally received a job offer from his father, who had withheld any assistance until he was certain his son had both an aptitude for racing and the desire to be successful. "My dad as a footprint the size of Godzilla," said Evan. "I knew I had to prove myself."

I no time at all, he was winning, taking four races in a row. Sadly, five days after his win at the Fireworks 250 in Barstow, CA he was paralyzed.

During consultations with his doctors, Evans showed them some racing photos and expressed his intentions to keep right on racing - if he could. So during a nine-hour surgical procedure to realign and fuse the spinal column, the doctors inserted three long steel bars to both strengthen and protect Evans' back.

Having completed his rehabilitation sessions, Evans put together a Chevy Blazer and entered a few desert races to develop his hand controls and hone his skills. He also completed in the (now defunct) Mickey Thompson Stadium Racing Series, and found that he favored short-course racing.

For the 1996 season, Evans built a Chevrolet C-1500 truck, specially-equipped with hand controls, to compete in Class 13 (unlimited two-wheel-drive- pickups) of the popular midwestern SODA Off-Road Series. "My dad and I talked about this, and decided it would be a good learning curve for me," said Evans.

At the opening round, he stole the show by taking his first career victory since his accident. He went on to dominate the class by scoring a total of seven wins in the eight-race series; and became the first paraplegic racer to capture an off-road title. Along with his Class 13 crown, Evans put his name in the record books as the winningest truck class driver in SODA history.

In addition to these accomplishments for 1995, Evans has been retained by Chevrolet as a spokesperson for the General Motors Mobility Program for Persons with Disabilities; and Evan Evans Racing has been added to the Chevy Thunder off-road motorsports team.

"I'm really happy to represent Chevrolet in both my racing efforts and the GM Mobility Program," said Evans. "When other people with disabilities see me racing, I hope that they will be encouraged by the fact that I can still do something that I love."

To preview pictures of Evan Evans from our catalog, click here

We thank the General Motors Mobility Program for their generous support of this event!