A birthday wish and lifelong dream came true Thursday night at the Painesville Speedway in Lake County, as 29-year-old Charles DeCapua put the pedal to the metal for the very first time.

A suspect is facing a slew of charges, including kidnapping, after prosecutors say he was armed with a machete and tied up a clerk during a robbery at a store in Mundelein. Lexarez L. Beles, 43, of ...