For as long as he can remember, 9-year-old Randyn Evans has wanted to be a racecar driver.
"My favorite part is to get in the car and just wait for that green flag and then go," Randyn said.
Randyn races sprint cars at Circus City Speedplex in Peru.
"It's so fun, I've been doing it for three years. I'm working on my fourth. I love it," he said.
This year, for the first time, his dad is racing too.
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"It's been a dream come true. It's been something I've been wanting to do since I was his age," Josh Evans said. "We got him into quarter midgets about four years ago, he moved up to junior sprints this year."
Josh drives the number 39 car.
The number 39 is significant because it's the badge number of fallen Elwood Police Officer Noah Shahnavaz.
"It's important for me because I feel like it's something that I can do to keep him and his name and his legacy going," Josh said.
On Josh and Randyn's cars, there are photos of Noah and the words "In loving memory" with his end of watch date: 7-31-2022.
"Seeing his smiling face on the front of the car and on the side of the car and his number 39, it just meant a lot to know that he's still being remembered, being honored in that way," Matt Shahnavaz, Noah's father said.
Josh is a police officer with the Orestes Police Department in Madison County. He had the chance to meet Noah before he died.
"They run short staffed, we run short staffed, so we kind of mix back and forth," Josh said.
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"The last week he was alive, he worked 28 extra hours. He was a hard worker," Laurie Shahnavaz said.
Laurie and Matt hope when people see Noah's name and picture racing around the track, they will take time to look up his story, learn from his life, and remember his sacrifice.
"He loved his country, he loved the community, and he just had a servant's heart," Matt said.
"He lived a sacrificial life. He went into the military right after high school, I think a month after he graduated, he's off to boot camp. He served for five years and then came back right away, got hired in Elwood and he sacrificed a lot to achieve his dreams," Laurie said.
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The Shahnavaz's started a nonprofit called The Remember Officer Noah Foundation.
Their goal is to prevent the tragedy of line-of-duty injuries and deaths, promote activities and events to honor Noah while bringing together police departments and the communities they serve.
"I think Noah's story is going to reach a lot of people. Just to know that his service and his sacrifice is appreciated and didn't go unnoticed," Matt said.
Noah's family shared some family photos with WRTV, you can view them in the album below.
