Stolen NASCAR Race Car Found Parked on Side of Road

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It had to be quite a sight for motorists passing by:

A NASCAR Sprint Cup race car parked on the shoulder of the road.

That’s what Gwinnett Police found early Saturday morning near Loganville — the No. 44 car that was supposed to be driven by Travis Kvapil in this weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup action at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Gwinnett Police said the car, which had been reported stolen from a Morrow, Ga., motel, was found on the shoulder of Lenora Road around 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning. The truck and trailer used to haul the car has not been found.

The car was found 50 miles from the Hampton, Ga., race track.

The race car was stolen along with the truck and trailer, and prevented Kvapil from racing this weekend, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

“Officers made contact with the Morrow Police Department to confirm the description of the vehicle,” Gwinnett Police said in a news release. “Officers then made contact with the vehicle owner. The vehicle owner arrived at the location and made arrangements to have the vehicle removed.”

Because of the theft, Kvapil missed Friday’s qualifying and a mandatory NASCAR inspection, and the team was forced to withdraw.

“It’s really bizarre,” Kvapil told the AJC. “You can handle maybe getting a flat tire, or getting caught up in a wreck, or a blown engine, something that actually happens on the race track. Or you don’t qualify, because you don’t have enough speed. But to not even get a chance … that’s pretty disheartening.”

The Team Extreme No. 44 car was not damaged, ESPN reported. It is valued at $250,000. Also not recovered was a spare engine valued at $100,000 and racing equipment worth $17,500.

Team owner John Cohen told ESPN the car was stolen from the Drury Inn in Morrow a few hours before Friday’s qualifying.

Gwinnett Police said no suspects have been named.

(Photos: Travis Kvapil Twitter, Teamextreme Racing Twitter)