Stolen car forces NASCAR team out of Sprint Cup race in Atlanta
A NASCAR Sprint Cup race car set to be driven by Travis Kvapil at this weekend’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway was stolen Thursday night along with its trailer from outside of the team’s hotel in Georgia.
“Wow Anyone near Atlanta find my stolen Cup car let me know! Unreal,” Kvapil tweeted. “I bet when whoever has it, opens the trailer and is going to be like ‘oh snap.’ ”
Team Xtreme’s No. 44 car was loaded in a white trailer hooked up to a black Ford truck and parked outside of the team’s hotel in Morrow, Ga., where it was lifted early Friday morning.
The team later announced it intended to withdraw from the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 though it still planned to race March 8 at the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, according to NASCAR.com.
Last week, Reed Sorenson finished 32nd at the Daytona 500 in the team’s first appearance in the NASCAR season opener.
Kvapil, who was set to make his first Sprint Cup start of the season, finished 15th in Feb. 20’s Camping World Truck Series race at the same track.
Teams began testing in Atlanta on Thursday and will continue with practices Friday and Saturday with the Folds of Honor QuickTrip 500 scheduled to start at 10 a.m. PST.
“Dang.... I’m wishing we had LoJack or something on it!” Kvapil said.
Follow Matt Wilhalme on Twitter @mattwilhalme
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