Stolen #55 NorCal SE30 Racecar Found!!

#1

Got the following email from Kevin Nichols today. The extent of damage to the #55 car is not yet detailed but at least the car was recovered :cheer: and possibly a trail back the the rest of the gear and maybe even the crooks. Here’s Kevin’s message:

[i]"The 55 car has been located. It has significant “drug user” damage. I have not seen the car or pictures of it. Sean Trapp was informed by Tony Zwain that it has been located and Tony did identify the car and has seen the damage. No detailed inspection has been done to determine the extent. Parts, supplies, and scooters have not been located yet. Tony’s truck and trailer were found earlier, they also have damage.

Thanks to Anil Sihg, who owns a BMW shop in Castro Valley (Auto Analysts II, located 19592 Center Street Castro Valley, CA 1-510-582-0201) He identified a guy who came in trying to sell race parts. Thanks to the Concord and Dublin P.D. for their efforts. and Sean and Tony for their diligence. Also thanks to the entire Race Community for spreading the word on e-mail and Forums.

Keep your eyes and ears open for wheels, tires, scooters, nitrogen tanks, brakes, etc.

Thanks to everyone for your concern, calls and e-mails, it means a lot to me.

It will probably be quite some time before this is sorted out and repairs are made once we actually receive the car back. It no doubt will take significant dollars to get back to square one. Hopefully I can race again by February.

Thanks to all,

Kevin M. Nichols
Team road runner
Car #55
Spec E30
NASA NorCal"[/i]

#2

EXCELLENT NEWS!

Hopefully the damage is minimal and more of the stuff can be tracked down.

Matt

#3

Thanks to everyone for their concern.

Car is pretty toasted. According to the Officer who recovered the car, the Meth Head acknowledged racing the car on the freeway with no water in the coolant system. He broke the radiator moving it and then ran into something. After the coolant all ran out he still went out and raced around wondering why the car was running so hot and smelled like burnt oil. Motor is toast. The guy even bragged to the cop that he out ran some police chasing him on the freeway.

Body is scraped up and gouged since they used a wood chisel and Screw driver to remove all the livery and graphics.

They “Ripped” out my communications and Traqmate systems and all the wiring, cables and wiring harnesses.

Broke the windshield and headlights. Ripped out and sold off my coolsuit. All my wheels, tires (4 sets), brake parts, nitrogen tank, regulator, canopy, bags with tools, spacers, Gas cans, Fire Extinguisher. Scooters and Tools are still missing as well.

Front Suspension is smashed up, steering wheel gone. Tranny and rear Diff… who knows.

Not clear what direction to go at the moment.

My thoughts to share are, think about putting some kind of tracking device in your trailer and/or in your car. If we had been able to locate these creeps early on we probably would have been able to recover most of the stuff.

Also get insurance. I have Storage and Transportation Insurance, but… we will see how good the policy is. I will report back about this and if the company steps up, we will make sure to let you all know.

Cheers to all. Hopefully I will be back racing by February.

#4

Kevin, I feel for you, man. Your out-of-pocket expenses for the 2010 season just went way up !!

And, not only did they get all of your stuff, but also your blood, sweat, and tears. Those are not replaceable.

Well, I hope the road back is not too, rocky. Please drop a note here once in a while so we can follow your progress. Ron H