This is another very strange story. it is hard to believe that someone would be able to get away with this today but who knows. This is the story of the man known as NASCAR's D.B. Cooper.
This occurred on May 2, 1974. It was the Winston 500 at Talladega Speedway. No one in the racing world had heard of the man but he still managed to con his way into the race. He told people that he had raced 43 times in the Busch Grand National (now Xfinity) series. He stated that he was backed by country superstars like Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard. He eventually convinced Bernie Terrell, owner of Space Age Marketing to loan him $30,000 to buy a car, truck and trailer along with $7500 for expenses during race week.
He eventually convinced NASCVAR legend Sterling Marlin to be his crew chief. Marlin agreed but he was skeptical about the guy. He was able to qualify for the race with a top speed of 187.37MPH. Some people did point out to NASCAR officials some issues with his story but they allowed him to race anyway. He began the race as the 36th car out of 40. He was unable to maintain the 180MPH minimum speed and was ordered to retire after 13 laps. He ended up finishing 39th and earned $1545.
After the race he abandoned his car and disappeared. Eventually the checks he wrote for expenses bounced. NASCAR hired private investigators to locate him and there were warrants out for his arrest but he was never found. Eventually on May 2, 2022 - the 40th anniversary of the race - The Scene Vault podcast claimed to have found him and released an episode with him. He denies that he cheated anyone but will still not provide his real name.
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