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It’s been almost twelve years since Paul Walker, car enthusiast and the star of the long-running action film franchise Fast & Furious, died in a car accident.
His brother, Cody Walker, and co-star, Tyrese Gibson, are honoring him through a car show coming to Tampa next month.
For Cody Walker, a love of cars has always run in his DNA.
“I was in middle school when the OG Fast & Furious came out – so Paul had a huge impact on me and the type of cars that I grew, grew to love to this day,” Walker told WMNF.
So when his brother, Fast & Furious star Paul Walker, passed away in a car crash in 2013, he wanted to carry his legacy on.
Cody met with Paul’s co-star Tyrese Gibson at a Red Lobster to make a plan to honor him through a car show.
“I kind of told him the idea of what I was working on, and he looked at me like, this is, like the greatest thing ever, bro. And we got to figure out how to make it happen,” Walker said.
And , FuelFest was born. It’s in its seventh year and held events globally from Tokyo to Abu Dhabi.
And now, it’s coming to Tampa for the first time.
Cody Walker sais bringing the auto show to Tampa was a no-brainer.
“There’s such a rich automotive culture in Florida, and we know from doing our past events in West Palm how many people will travel. And, you know, the West Palm Show pulls from Miami and pulls from all over the place. And we thought, well, why don’t we go north?” Walker said.
The show will feature more than 800 rare and exotic cars, with some used in the Fast & Furious movies. There is also live music and interactive fan racing activities.
Gibson is also making an appearance. He played Paul Walker’s childhood friend in the Fast & Furious franchise.
“Every event, there’s that moment where it’s like wow, like, if you want to know why we do this, we look out on the stage and see 17, 20 thousand people, and we are reminded quickly that we’re doing something much bigger than us.” Gibson said.
But Gibson says there is only one missing person in the crowd – Paul.
“We feel his energy and presence at every event. But man, it would be nice to just see him pull up one good time and be part of these events, you know?” Gibson said.
The event is March 1st at the Florida State Fairgrounds. A portion of the funds will go to Reach Out WorldWide, a nonprofit founded by Paul Walker.
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