"It's true, Mom!" Eric Delgado insisted. "I won a car!!"

His mother didn't believe him.

"Don't trick me, Eric!" said Enid Delgado in a cell phone conversation with her son. It wasn't until he sent her a picture with him in front of the 2000 Chevy Impala at Grayslake North High School that she believed the news.

"Wow! We've never won anything before in our lives," she told Patch. "It is a blessing. It's just a blessing."

Delgado, 18, of Round Lake Beach, couldn't stop smiling. He said the car would be great for college. He plans to attend Iowa State University in the fall.

"When they announced my name, I freaked out and said, That's ME!" Delgado said, laughing.

Gail Rockenbach of Rockenbach Chevrolet in Grayslake said they have been giving away cars to Grayslake high school seniors since 1997. The program at North High School began when the school opened.

"We want to help the community," she said. "This is a way to reward good kids."

To be eligible for the car, students must maintain a "B" grade point average, be in good standing in terms of attendance and discipline, and be involved in at least one extra-curricular activity.