Sunday, March 1, 2015
NASCAR driver Travis Kvapil discovered Friday morning that the trailer containing his race car was stolen from the parking lot of his hotel room in Morrow, Georgia.
Kvapil and his Team Xtreme Racing were scheduled to compete in the Sprint Cup Series this Saturday in Atlanta, and had until 5:45 p.m. on Friday to register the vehicle. Team Xtreme owner, John Cohen, told USA Today Sports that they hope to enter the Sprint Cup next week.
Team Xtreme tweeted this from its account the day before the theft.
Morrow Police Sgt. Larry Oglesby told BuzzFeed News that at 5:52 a.m., Team Xtreme crew manager Peter Sospenzo called authorities to report the stolen vehicle.
The Nascar team was staying at the Drury Inn in Morrow, and the trailer was in the parking lot.
Oglesby said the stolen truck connected to the trailer was a black Ford truck with New Jersey license plates.
Kvapil has since taken to social media to spread the word about the crime.
The trailer was white and unmarked. Oglesby said that normally, such vehicles contain lawn equipment and can easily be sold for cash.
“Because it wasn’t marked, they’re probably thinking it’s easy pickings,” he added.
Kvapil expressed a similar theory on Twitter.
Law enforcement officials say the combined value of the trailer and the race car, equipment, and two motors inside falls somewhere between $350,000–400,000.
Oglesby added that the Morrow Police Department has been in communication with Team Xtreme as well as multiple news outlets to spread the word about the theft, and hopes to return the trailer and race car to their rightful owners.
BuzzFeed News has reached out to Team Xtreme for comment.
Tamerra Griffin is a reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in New York.
Contact Tamerra Griffin at tamerra.griffin@buzzfeed.com
