Team withdraws from Atlanta race; car later found
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Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the car being found.
Team Xtreme confirmed Friday that its No. 44 entry for this weekend’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway was stolen in the morning hours outside the team’s hotel.
Travis Kvapil, who was scheduled to drive the team’s Chevrolet this weekend at the 1.54-mile track, offered details through his Twitter account, saying the car was inside an enclosed, white 26-foot trailer attached to a black Ford dually truck, both with New Jersey license plates. The truck and trailer were parked overnight at a hotel in Morrow, Georgia, approximately 16 miles north of the speedway.
“What a crazy story,” Kvapil told FOX Sports 1. “I got some voicemails and some texts this morning, and I kind of thought the guys were just screwing with me, said they had problems with the car and I guess they had big problems with the car — it was stolen.”
By Thursday, the team’s hauler was already at the Atlanta track, leaving early to escape the wintry weather forecast for the greater Charlotte area on Wednesday evening. The primary car was brought separately from the organization’s North Carolina shop, arriving Thursday at approximately 11 p.m. ET. The team said hotel surveillance video showed that the alleged theft happened Friday at 5:32 a.m. ET.
Wow. Anyone near Atlanta find my stolen Cup car let me know! Unreal
— Travis Kvapil (@TravisKvapil) February 27, 2015
NASCAR confirmed Friday after that Team Xtreme had withdrawn from Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (1 p.m. ET, FOX). Team officials said the operation hoped to regroup in time for the third race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, March 8 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“Real setback for Team Xtreme, (team owner) John Cohen and all the guys that worked so hard to get us here coming off a decent Daytona race,” Kvapil said. “This is a big setback for this little team.”
Reed Sorenson drove the No. 44 entry to a 32nd-place finish in last weekend’s season-opening Daytona 500, capping a week of hard work to prepare a backup car after a crash during Coors Light Pole Qualifying.
“While this is obviously a setback for this weekend, our plans remain to compete in the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup season,” Cohen said. “We are working closely with the Morrow police in hopes that our truck, trailer and race car are safely returned.”
Sunday’s race was scheduled to be the first Sprint Cup start of the season for Kvapil, who finished 15th last weekend in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series opener at Daytona International Speedway.
The car was later found, dumped off the side of the road, the team announced via Twitter early Saturday morning.
Lost and Found section of the road. pic.twitter.com/L3cEdi9o0R
— Team XTREME Racing (@Teamxtreme44) February 28, 2015
Official Teamxtreme44 @TravisKvapil @NASCAR car found by @Gwinnettcounty police officers Tonelli, Wolfson Digby������ pic.twitter.com/SkUkHyCxft
— Team XTREME Racing (@Teamxtreme44) February 28, 2015
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