HAMPTON, Ga. (USA TODAY) – Team Xtreme Racing on Friday was forced to withdraw the No. 44 Chevrolet from Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway after its only available vehicle was stolen from a Drury Inn parking lot in Murrow early in the morning.
Team owner John Cohen told USA Today Sports that the team will enter the event next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Cohen said he didn't have an estimate on the value of the race car.
The only lead, he said, was a surveillance video showing the team's unmarked dually trailer being stolen with the car inside. The team hauler with tools was already at AMS.
"All we know is it was a silver jeep," Cohen said. "One guy got out and they pulled off together."
Travis Kvapil was preparing to attempt to qualify for Sunday's race in the car Friday afternoon at 5:45.
Team Xtreme qualified for the Daytona 500 last week and finished 32nd with driver Reed Sorenson. But Kvapil is in the car this week with Sorenson driving for another team.
NASCAR teams tested at Atlanta on Thursday, meaning all the other cars are already secured inside the track.
Morrow (Ga.) Police told USA TODAY Sports the car was inside an unmarked white Sunbeam trailer being hauled by a black 2004 Ford F-350 and was parked outside the Drury Inn. The team had parked its race hauler at Atlanta, but was bringing the car down separately.
Police are actively searching for the race car and trailer.
"Sometimes what happens when thieves see trailers, they might just assume there's something in the trailer they can go off and sell," Morrow Police Sgt. Larry Oglesby told USA TODAY Sports. "Sometimes when things like this occur, they will drop off the items in a parking lot somewhere -- like a Walmart parking lot -- once they realize what they have."
"They'll open it up and say, 'Oh my God, this is not what we thought it was. Let's get out of here.' And they'll take off and leave it sitting there. We're hoping that will be the situation so he can get back to his races this weekend, because they drove quite a distance to participate."
According to the police report, surveillance footage captured part of the theft. At 5:25 a.m., a newer model silver or grey Jeep Cherokee was observed driving into the Drury Inn parking lot. It was seen returning at 5:32 a.m.; two minutes later, the trailer and the car inside were seen leaving the property.
Team Xtreme crew chief Peter Sospenzo called police at 5:52 a.m. to report the trailer missing.
According to the police report, the car is valued at $250,000. A backup engine also inside the trailer is valued at $100,000 and there was $17,500 worth of other equipment in the trailer.
"It would be a loss if we couldn't locate the vehicle," Oglesby said.