While most 7-year-old boys are happy to play with toy cars, Alex prefers something a bit faster. He’d rather watch NASCAR drivers race bumper-to-bumper on the track.

When volunteers from the Make-A-Wish Foundation^® contacted Alexander to find out his fondest wish, his thoughts turned quickly to his love of race cars. Alexander’s wish request landed him and his family at NASCAR’s Dover 400 in Delaware.

Alexander, who lives with a severe kidney disorder, spent the weeks before the May race carefully preparing a list of questions to ask the drivers he hoped to meet, including his all-time favorite, Jeff Gordon. But this enthusiastic little boy was almost rendered speechless when he saw Gordon, one of the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s most-requested celebrity wish granters, for the first time at the Monster Mile.

His mom, Lesidet, recalled, “[Alexander] just stood there for a moment with his mouth open, and then like a machine gun rattled off all his questions.”

Gordon gladly answered Alexander’s questions, telling him all about NASCAR, and then gave his new friend the chance to sit in a racecar. The two filled the afternoon with a visit to the pit and the tower, and even soda and goodies in Gordon’s traveling motor coach.

In addition to watching the Dover 400 from the front row, Alexander was able talk on the NASCAR radio station, as well as over the track loudspeaker like a real race announcer. After watching the race, Alexander again met up with his hero to take pictures with him.

Alexander’s favorite moment? “Jeff Gordon talked to me, and gave me his hat and a signed picture!” he said.

That picture now hangs in Alexander’s room, where he can see it every day and re-live his unforgettable wish experience.