Little Boy With Big Heart Gains National Attention

. He spends his free time raising funds for children with cancer and their families.

Now, his enthusiasm, talkative personality and desire to help others has gained national attention.

Crews from NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams spent an entire day with Timmy and his family over the weekend, filming him at his Manassas home and racing at King George Speedway for a upcoming segment called "Making a Difference."

"Things went absolutely amazing yesterday [Saturday] with NBC," said Tina Tyrell, Timmy's mother. "They spent the entire day with us from 9:15 am until 9:00 pm."

When asked how 'Mini Timmy' is coping with all the attention, his mother said, "Timmy has 0 fear" and "does not shy away from it at all."

Timmy has given speeches in front of hundreds of people. “He is a child with an adult mentality” and is “very aware and conscientious,” his mother said.

His inspiration comes from his friend, Ella Day, and other kids who have battled cancer. While Ella is cancer free today, there was a time when Timmy saw the family friend suffering from cancer. He noticed she had no hair, and that's when the R.C. Haydon Elementary student approached his dad about starting a charity to help the families of kids battling cancer.

It didn’t take long for father and son to combine their love of racing with a desire to help families of cancer patients through Inspired Athletes, a 501(c )(3), which raises money for the Jeffery Virostek Fund.

Sponsors, relatives and friends donate for each lap Timmy races, or they  pledge a dollar amount to the charity.

 “The biggest problem facing parents (of kids with cancer) is they have to take off work and run out of paid leave. Also, their support network is not as wide. They are behind in car payments and electric bills, just in trying to care for their child,” said Timmy's  dad.

 The NBC segment is expected to air Timmy’ story this Wednesday, Oct. 19,  at 7pm.