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Paralympics medalist Amy Purdy to serve as Honorary Pace Car driver in Sunday’s Daytona 500

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Amy Purdy will drive the pace car in Sunday’s Daytona 500. (Photo courtesy Toyota)

Paralympics bronze medalist and 2014 Dancing With the Stars finalist Amy Purdy has been named Honorary Pace Car driver in Sunday’s Daytona 500, Toyota announced Thursday.

A top-ranked adaptive snowboarder, Purdy will drive a new Toyota Camry, which has been redesigned in 2015. It’s the second time a Toyota has paced The Great American Race, the other time being in 2012.

“As a race fan, I’m thrilled to be invited to be the Honorary Pace Car driver at the biggest race of the NASCAR season – the Daytona 500,” Purdy said in a Toyota media release. “This is another opportunity to try something new and be bold in my own life.”

A Las Vegas native, Purdy lost her legs after being stricken by meningitis at 19 years old.

But that life-changing event didn’t slow down Purdy, who is a three-time World Cup Para-Snowboard winner and founded the Adaptive Action Sports organization.

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