BAKERSFIELD, CA -- Jason Small finished the NASCAR Winston West race in 5th place. It was followed by a night of celebration, but all smiles and cheers quickly turned sour when it was discovered some low-life broke into their trailer early Monday morning at about 3am and cleaned them out.

While the celebration took place the thieves ran of with about $35,000 of the team's equipment. Through an inventory check of the trailer Monday and Tuesday the following items have turned up missing: a welder, torch, racing scales, 10 radios and headsets, all tire equipment pressure temp thickness, etc. 2 televisions, generator, 6 pit impact guns, 1 pump pit jack, regulators, motor equipment, tools and a spare 4 speed Jerico, 2 Simpson helmets, and a lap top computer.

Anyone involved in racing knows how much money is involved to stay competitive. A loss like this can set any team back. With Irwindale just two weeks away, it is going to be hard on the team. It was only two months since thieves also hit Nick Joanides, a NASCAR Southwest Series driver.

The racing community should not allow this type of activity to continue. The team realizes it is not going to be easy to recover anything, but they are asking for your help. If anyone sees anyone selling equipment or possessing a lot of equipment that is suspicious or even bragging about the theft, please do the right thing. They hope someone knows something about the theft and may be able lead the team back to their equipment.

Source: RacingWest
Posted: 6/2/99