Cancer-stricken boy, 18, enjoys day racing Mustang on racetrack thanks to Ford boss after dad revealed he'd bought muscle car to cheer up youngster during his final months

A cancer-stricken Utah teen got the chance to race Mustangs around a racetrack after Ford CEO Jim Farley spotted his father's viral tweet. 

Joseph Tegerdine, 18, was recently given just months to live after it was found his bone cancer was spreading rapidly, leading his father Joe Sr to splash out on a 2020 Ford Mustang supercar. 

After Farley saw a tweet defending the purchase, he invited Tegerdine and his father to enjoy the purchase to the max on the Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina. 

'It was kind of terrifying at first. Then I was like, 'oh, this is actually pretty chill.' It's just really, really fun,' the 18-year-old told the Detroit Free Press after the track day. 

'There’s so much to be thinking about in this car that your brain is 100% occupied — a little more gas, hit the brake hard, turn, turn. It’s just surreal.' 

Joseph Tegerdine, 18, enjoyed a day on Ford's Charlotte Motor Speedway racetrack this month after his father bought him a Mustang due to his cancer diagnosis 

The father and son were invited to the racetrack after Joe Sr's tweet about the Mustang went viral. The teen said the track was 'terrifying', but also 'just really, really fun' 

The day at the track came about after Joe Sr shared a tweet about buying his son the Mustang, which he initially thought would get little-to-no attention. 

'For those wondering why I’d buy my 18yr old son a 330hp Mustang, well, he’s been given months to live and can’t work long enough to buy one himself,' Joe said on X. 

'His comment on the way home, 'Dad, I’m going to squeeze a few extra months of life just to be able to drive this.'' 

After the story behind the Mustang went viral - with Tegerdine's tweet receiving over 13 million views - the father and son were stunned by the surprising offer from Farley to make the most of the purchase. 

Farley invited the two to race on the famed Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina earlier this month, as he wanted to help the teen experience the thrill of the track. 

'Joseph was so excited. I had not seen him have that much energy for months,' Joe Sr said. 

'In the end, we got to ride with a professional driver and it was like, I mean, G-forces after G-forces. You could feel yourself airborne in the seat. 

'You come through a turn and you feel all the pressure in the turn and as soon as they hit the throttle out of the turn, you're pinned to the seat.' 

In a statement to the Detroit Free Press, Farley said it was an 'honor' for Ford to host the father and son at their track. 'I’m just pleased we were able to help Joe and Joseph enjoy a very special day,' he said. 

While Tegerdine's Mustang was a 2020 version, Farley also arranged for him to race a 2024 Mustang Dark Horse, which boasts a 500 horsepower. 

The day at the track came after Joe Sr tweeted about buying his son the supercar, which went viral and racked up over 13 million views 

Joe Sr's tweet caught the attention of Ford CEO Jim Farley, who invited them to Ford's racing track to experience the thrill of the track 

Ford CEO Jim Farley said it was an 'honor' to host the teenager, adding he was 'just pleased we were able to help Joe and Joseph enjoy a very special day' 

While The teenager's Mustang was a black 2020 version, Farley also arranged for him to race a 2024 Mustang Dark Horse (pictured), which boasts a 500 horsepower

Joseph was diagnosed with bone cancer in the seventh grade, with the first symptoms of the disease being merely a sore knee. 

At the time, the then-middle-schooler had dreams of becoming an engineer, but an MRI scan on his knee meant his education quickly became a grueling ordeal of surgery and chemotherapy. 

As a teenager, Joseph was saving up to buy the car while working at Sodalicious, but his worsening cancer meant he would likely run out of time without getting to experience a Mustang behind the wheel. 

'We found out he has more tumors in his lungs, we needed to buy the car,' his dad told the Detroit Free Press at the time.

Before their day at the track, the father and son were also invited to a dinner at Ford's racing school with other drivers, where Joseph was thrilled to meet Laurie Transou, the chief engineer of Ford's Mustang program. 

Joe Sr said their meeting was a bittersweet moment, as he could still see his dying son's fascination with engineering. 

'Normally, you'd have conversations about, 'when you’re an engineer,' or 'you could come back and do the two- or three-day course,' he said. 

'But then you realize this is probably it. So you’re very much in the now. And embracing that moment together because there’s a recognition of the finality of it. You know there’s not going to be probably a next time. 

'So, we just try to enjoy those moments together.' 

Before their day at the track, the family also ventured to a 'bucket list' vacation to Osaka, Japan (pictured) 

The teenager's outlook has inspired many, as he said shortly before going to the dream racetrack day: 'You have to live day by day because, day by day, if you look at my life, it's actually fantastic' 

Although his son's deteriorating health was devastating, Joe Sr said the wave of support he has seen in recent months, including Farley's offer, has been heartwarming. 

'There's so much social upheaval and so many people are hurting right now ... to be able to have literally thousands of people reach out, you just realize most of us are just good people doing our best to try and live a fulfilling life,' he said. 

'We get caught in this doom cycle... I attribute a lot to politics and politicians trying to divide us and focus on negative and dark things to maintain power and generate wealth for themselves. The rest of us get caught in these cycles. 

'To be able to step out and see the goodness of humanity and people is super inspiring to me. It reminds me that, for most of us, that’s our reality.' 

Before their day at the track, the family also ventured to a 'bucket list' vacation to Osaka, Japan, where the teenager's inspiring outlook shone through. 

'You have to live day by day because, day by day, if you look at my life, it's actually fantastic,' Joe Jr said.

'I'm in Japan right now. I've got a car of my dreams, I'm surrounded by tons of people I absolutely adore and I'm going to driving school.

'Then you look at the future, and it all starts to break down. I don't really need to look at the future. Morbidly, I don't really have one. I can't be, like, 'In a year —' If I get a year, I'll be extremely lucky.'

With his Mustang behind him, Joseph was this month pictured taking his girlfriend Lily to prom - where he said he was thankful for the distraction and it was 'fun to be a little teenager for a bit' 

With his Mustang behind him, Joseph was this month pictured taking his girlfriend Lily to prom - where he said he was thankful for the distraction as he was able to enjoy the evening despite his cancer diagnosis. 

'It's fun to be a little teenager for a bit,' he said. 

'I’m technically a teenager, but I’m not really a teenager. Teenagers think they’re invincible. They have the ability to go do stupid things and they don’t think of the consequences.

'But at age 13, I had to come to the reality that I’m very much vincible and I'm going to die. I never really got that whole 'invincible teenager who can do whatever and it’ll be fine' feeling.' 

'But it’s nice sometimes to remember, it sounds dumb because I'm only 18, but it's nice to remember to stay young sometimes. My girlfriend helps with that. She loves fun things.'