A Corvette pedal car that raised more than $1 million for pediatric cancer research through Curing Kids Cancer (CKC) has officially found its permanent home at the National Corvette Museum.
Known as the “Boomerang Car,” the pedal car was accepted into the museum’s collection on June 1, 2026 after a fundraising journey unlike any other. Between 2022 and 2026, it was sold, donated back and resold 38 times at Mecum Auctions events in Indianapolis and Kissimmee, generating $1,018,000 to support pediatric cancer research.
The story began in 2015 when longtime CKC supporter Roger Strawser purchased the pedal car for $1,000. Years later, after seeing a similar pedal car sell for $20,000 at auction, Strawser approached Dana Mecum with an idea: Could the pedal car help fund treatment and research for children with cancer?
The answer was yes.
At Mecum Indy in 2022, the pedal car sold for $25,000. The buyer immediately returned it to be auctioned again, creating a cycle of giving that would continue for four years.
As the pedal car continued to return to the auction block, Mecum Head Auctioneer Jimmy Landis gave it a nickname that stuck: the “Boomerang Car.”
“What started as a simple purchase became something none of us could have imagined,” Strawser said. “Every time it came back across the block, it meant another child could get treatment. That’s what mattered.”
Founded by Gráinne Owen after losing her 9-year-old son, Killian, to leukemia, Curing Kids Cancer funds innovative pediatric cancer research around the world. Mecum Auctions has supported the organization as its charity of choice for the past 15 years, helping raise more than $16 million through Mecum events and more than $35 million overall for pediatric cancer research.
“After losing Killian, I learned that while we can’t change what happened to him, we can change what’s possible for the children who come after him,” said Gráinne Owen, co-founder of Curing Kids Cancer. “This pedal car became a symbol of that hope. Every sale represented people choosing to invest in better treatments, better outcomes and, ultimately, more cures for children facing cancer.”
As the pedal car approached the $1 million milestone, plans were made to donate it to the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The museum will also receive a permanent donor display recognizing the supporters who helped make the pedal car’s fundraising journey possible.
Now part of the museum’s collection, the Boomerang Car stands as a unique piece of Corvette history and a powerful reminder of what can happen when a community rallies around children fighting cancer.
