Shamrock Shuffle Wheelchair Racer Adam Finney Uses Accident For Inspiration (VIDEO)

When Chicago's Shamrock Shuffle kicks off Sunday in Grant Park, the festivities will look just a little bit different than years past.

For the first time in the 8K race's 34-year history, it will be offering a wheelchair racer division.

Six participants are set to compete in the race's wheelchair category, including 30-year-old Chicagoan Adam Finney, who has his eye on qualifying for the 2016 Paralympics team.

Finney recently told WGN he was in a car accident in 2005 when he fell asleep behind the wheel of his car while while driving home from a bar drunk. He was thrown from the vehicle and broke his back, resulting in paralysis.

"Seeing someone in a racing chair do 26 miles with their arms inspires you to want to do more and see how far you can push yourself," Finney told the station.

The Shamrock Shuffle sold out for its ninth straight year ahead of Sunday's race and will attract 40,000 participants, among them Dathan Ritzenhein, a three-time Olympian and the top U.S. finisher from the 2012 Chicago Marathon, and fellow U.S. Olympian Lisa Uhl.