A tragic incident occurred a little over 30 years ago when an active young man who was fiercely dedicated to racing motorcycles in the desert suffered a severe back injury. The racing mishap left Lance Magin's legs paralyzed, and since that time he's bounced between the highs and lows that define extremes from the standpoint of both a racer and a victim. To meet Lance now is to step into a world of confidence and inspiration. He embraces life with a passion and has continued to pursue sports, including becoming a world-renowned wheelchair tennis player.
He still maintains a strong dedication to racing since discovering the capabilities of vehicle hand controls. He's in a race seat as often as possible, piloting a NASCAR machine or blasting across the desert. Lance was the first paraplegic to race in the Baja 1000, and he does a fair amount of work himself building and prepping his race vehicles.
Lance currently works with Ford Mobility Motoring to campaign a late-model Ford Explorer in the Best in the Desert series of off-road races. Finish results have been mixed, but Lance's support team of close friends remains dedicated to improving the truck and striving for increasingly better race results.
Having slipped himself back into that racing seat, Lance is living proof that sheer will and determination can keep most anyone doing the things in life that they love.
 The race truck started life...  The race truck started life as a near-new '03 Ford Explorer. The interior was quickly gutted for the transformation. Greg Foutz of Foutz Motorsports in Mesa, Arizona, designed the internal 'cage, and the crew at Daystar in Phoenix performed their bend-and-weld magic. |  There are no pedals in this...  There are no pedals in this race truck, only hand controls to operate the brake and throttle. Here, Lance completes the assembly and adjustment of the hand-control unit that mounts directly below the steering column. We got the chance to drive the truck using these unfamiliar controls. Let's just say we'll leave the real driving to Lance. |  Lance does a good portion...  Lance does a good portion of the fabrication and work on the truck himself with the help of a dedicated group of close friends. We found him welding a support tube between the two front pillars in the cab section of the 'cage. |