Man battling cancer gets surprise Corvette cruise with Jay Leno

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    Arizona (KNXV) — A Valley man battling cancer got the surprise ride of a lifetime.

“Watching your dad fade away sucks,” said Colby Webb.

Colby’s dad, Larry, is fading fast after being diagnosed in May with bile duct cancer.

He’s now being cared for by Hospice of the Valley. With the limited time he has left, Colby was determined to give his dad one last thrill.

“My dad will tell you the Corvette, that’s the heart of American, it’s American muscle, Americans want a Corvette,” said Colby.

Larry was no exception, passing along his love for the Corvette and cars to his son.

“He asked when is this new Corvette going to come out, and my wife said January of 2020. The look in my dad’s face when it clicked, and he realized he probably was not going to see this release just floored us, it broke my heart,” said Colby.

That’s when Colby decided to call General Motors, who immediately agreed to deliver the car to Midway Chevrolet.

“We invited all of his friends down, all the family members were down there, everybody we could call to come to see him, and see this Corvette,” said Colby.

Video from that day shows Larry thrilled as can be. He checked out the inside and outside of his dream car while surrounded by those he loved most.

“I really did think that was his final hurrah,” said Colby.

Colby posted the video of the experience on Reddit, which got thousands of views.

Little did he know, someone else with an similar love for cars was watching too.

“I got an email two weeks later from producers with Jay Leno’s Garage,” said Colby.

Within days the Webbs were on a private plane flying to Burbank.

“We get him off the plane; there’s Jay. My dad looks at my wife and goes that’s Jay Leno,” said Colby.

All of it arranged in secret. Leno had a prototype Corvette ready to go.

“Jay’s not gonna call you out and let you just sit in the car,” said Colby.

Together, they took it for a spin, then stopped by Jay’s garage for a tour of his massive car collection.

“Jay Leno is one of the nicest people and his crew. Everybody was just the nicest people ever; they took care of everything,” said Colby.

A photo on the plane ride back showed Larry once again flashing his enduring smile.

“I think it will be one of the last things he thinks about,” said Colby.

Larry’s experience will eventually air as an episode on Jay Leno’s ‘Garage’ in the coming months.

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