TEMPE, Ariz. - Nearly six years after losing their friend, a group of car enthusiasts have restored his beloved limited-edition car, which is set to be part of its first track day since this tragedy.
The backstory:
Friends of Ryan Stewart have spent the years since his death in May 2020 working meticulously to restore his beloved special-edition Subaru S209.
Stewart died when a drunk driver hit him while he was changing a tire near 67th Avenue and the Loop 101. The restoration crew was able to find and use that tire and other special original parts.
"Anybody he met, you know, if they needed something, he'd take care of them. He was just a genuine, genuine guy," said Ravi Tomerlin.
Ryan Stewart
Local perspective:
The crew at We Don't Lift Racing in Tempe, led by Tomerlin, say this was a true labor of love. Now they've finally reached the point where the car can be taken for a spin like it used to.
"This car has become such a mishmash of messages for us," Tomerlin said. "The entire left side has been transplanted from another crashed car that crashed on the right side. It's all attached in the factory manner, using factory procedure, re-seam welded and everything."
Tomerlin says there are some small pieces still missing, including a door panel and a mirror.
"This is the exact same wheel that was being taken off the car that night, so we obviously kept it," Tomerlin said. "The side skirt is the original side skirt that was blown off and disappeared, so we were able to recover that and put that back on. The little emblem on the front of the car, the 209 emblem, is also the original emblem. We actually do have a brand-new one, but we were thinking about it, and we'd rather use the original one that came on the car. It's a little scuffed up, but it's kind of like character, you know, for us."
What's next:
Now the crew is preparing for the Southwest Speed Festival this weekend, where Stewart's brother will get the chance to drive the car. The brother plans to eventually take it to Colorado, marking the end of a bittersweet chapter.
"We've seen it for years now in the same spot, in various stages of completion, so I think that will be the toughest part," Tomerlin said. "It'll be good to see it go home, but it will be really rough not having it around the shop anymore."
Why you should care:
The man who hit and killed Stewart was given an 18-month sentence for negligent homicide in 2023. Stewart's friends say track days like the festival on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 in Casa Grande allow space for racing in a safe environment.
That's a message—along with the overall message of safe driving—they say they'll continue to spread.
Map of the area of the 2020 crash location.
The Source: This information was gathered by FOX 10's Nicole Krasean on Jan. 28 and from previous reports.