Disney Channel celebrates a `Miracle in Lane 2'

Justin Yoder was a boy with a dream. Confined to a wheelchair by the birth defect spina bifida, Justin watched his older brother excel in sports and wondered if he could ever do the same.

Then he discovered Soap Box Derby racing.<<p> The story of Justin and his racing adventures have been dramatized in a new movie called "Miracle in Lane 2," airing Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on The Disney Channel. Fifteen-year-old Frankie Muniz, star of Fox's hit sitcom "Malcolm in the Middle" plays Justin; Patrick Levis plays Justin's older brother, Seth; and Molly Hagan and Rick Rossovich play the Yoder parents.

Roger Aaron Brown co-stars as Vic Sauder, a crotchety neighbor who overcomes an old grief by helping Justin with his Soap Box Derby car; and Tuc Watkins plays the dual role of auto race Bobbie Wade and God, to whom Justin talks when he's feeling low.

"It's unbelievable," says Justin, now 13. "It's too cool, awesome."

According to information supplied by the spina-bifida association, 4,000 pregnancies are affected by the birth defect each year. In Justin's case, it caused partial paralysis, digestive and urological problems, and forced him to live with a shunt in his brain to drain off excess fluid.

But Justin still feels the need for speed. That's what drew him to Soap Box Derby racing. "One, being it's something I can do, actually," he says, "and I'm good at it. For me, it's the speed. I love the speed, because you can go extremely fast in those cars. And just all the excitement - it's a fairly big thing. It's not just some little thing that you can go to, it can get pretty competitive and very big."

Soap Box Derby is a gravity-racing program for boys and girls between the ages of 9 and 16, with the driver encouraged to do as much of the work building and maintaining the car as his or her skill level allows. Races are held either on tracks or on closed-off streets that provide the incline needed for racers to build up speed.

Justin and his family were able to visit the set during filming earlier this year, which took place during a hiatus after Muniz completed filming the first 13 episodes of "Malcolm in the Middle."

"I got to meet the real Justin," says Muniz. "He was really awesome. I thought he was going to be a little different, but he was so normal. He would always make jokes; he'd be laughing all the time. We would hang out. He was so cool."

Seems the feeling was mutual. "Frankie's really cool," says Justin. "He is a great guy, awesome."

Was it weird to watch him playing you? "Yes, that was probably one of the weirdest experiences I've ever had - just because they're saying my name, and you want to answer back, but you can't."

How did Frankie do in the wheelchair? "He did fine. It's not too hard to be in a wheelchair . . . well, sorta. Not too hard to drive one of these things."

Muniz was given his wheelchair about a week before filming. "I just rode around in it and got really used to it," he says. "`It's really easy, once you get used to the turning and actually getting your arms strong enough to do that uphill and stuff."

What was it like, being in a wheelchair? "Everyone treats you differently," says Muniz.