ORIES
Thirteen year old Alex Mee
made treasured memories at
Mildura’s Sunset Strip Dragway
in September thanks to the
efforts of a dedicated group.
19 fastlane
19 fastlane
Growing up in a drag racing family, Alex had always
dreamt of racing himself however after being
diagnosed with the terminal disease, Duchenne
Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), it appeared this dream
would never come true.
However, at the Sunset Strip Nationals Alex realised
his dream of travelling the drag strip, with the car-
loving youngster able to ride in a specially-wrapped
Junior Dragster as it was pushed by a golf cart to
the start line and then down the drag strip* while
his family, friends and racing community watched
on decked out in special ‘Alex Mee’ race gear and
clutching their special edition ‘Alex Mee’ racing
posters.
“It was mind blowing when they uncovered the
dragster and I could see my name and race number
on it and what a surprise it was to see crew shirts
for all my family and crew as well as stickers and
posters of my car,” Alex said.
“John Zappia rang during the weekend which
was cool, John and I have known each other for a
long time. Another highlight of my weekend was
meeting Phil Lamattina - after talking with Phil he
invited me to Sydney for a Top Fuel event. I also got
to meet Kelly Bettes, the Lamattina Family and all
the crew which was amazing.
“(Going down the dragstrip) I was cool, calm and
collected and just wanted to go faster. I feel very
lucky to have experienced it and I have met some
more amazing people that are now my friends.”
The experience at the Sunset Strip Nationals also
meant a lot to those who love Alex.
“This all means a huge amount – I have grown
up with the drags all my life and Alex’s dad Frank
Intini and my partner Lance Larcombe also race. I
always thought my son would too but then after
his diagnosis we knew that was never going to
happen,” Alex’s mother Donna Mee said.
“He just loves cars, and he has so many friends
out there at the drag strip. What happened at the
Sunset Strip Nats was just incredible and gave Alex
a chance to be out there and enjoying what he loves
and what he watches everyone else doing. Words
escape me as to how much it has meant to all of us.
“With his disease progressing, this is something
that was probably a case of now or never and I am
so pleased that this has all come together – while
he may not have a lot of quantity of life, we want
to make sure he has quality of life and treasured
memories he will never forget.
“He has been so excited, counting down the sleeps
and telling everyone at school. There were plenty
of happy tears at the track, and we can’t thank
everyone involved enough for making this a reality.”
Alex’s dad Frank said the activity during the track’s
Sunset Strip Nationals event was exceptionally
meaningful for the whole family.