In 1982 a man claiming to be a professional race car driver talked his way into NASCAR’s Winston 500 and then disappeared, leaving a trail of bounced
Posted by
Krusty (aka Krustylu)
Mar 8 '21, 11:21
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checks and confused victims in his wake. This is the story of L. W. Wright: NASCAR’s Mystery Driver
From r/nonmurdermysteries on reddit
NASCAR stock car racing, as America’s most popular motorsport, has had its fair share of scandals and cheaters over its long and storied existence. One particularly infamous driver stands out for the reason that to this day nobody knows who he even really was. He has been called many names like the D. B Cooper of NASCAR, the mystery driver, the conman racer, but is mostly known by his presumed pseudonym L. W. Wright.
A New Challenger Appears:
In April of 1982 William Dunaway of Hendersonville Tennessee, claiming to be a local business manager, contacted The Tennessean with an announcement of a promising young driver named L.W. Wright who would be competing in the upcoming Winston 500 at Alabama International Motor Superspeedway in Talladega. This race was part of the prestigious NASCAR Cup Series, the top level of competition within NASCAR. Wright claimed to have competed in 43 NASCAR Grand National races over the previous decade and stated that his race team, Music City Racing, was sponsored by country music stars Merle Haggard and T. G. Sheppard.
With just a week until race day, Wright paid NASCAR $115 for a competition license and $100 for the race entry fee. Race officials such as NASCAR field manager Doyle Ford were skeptical of Wright’s background but legally there was nothing they could do to prevent him from competing. “There’s a thing called a ‘Right to Work’ Law,” Ford explained. “If a driver wants to enter a race and can afford the license and entry fee and has a race car that meets our rules and specifications, then there is no way NASCAR can legally keep him from filling an entry and attempting to qualify for the race.”
Fake it Till You Make it:
Wright approached B. W. "Bernie" Terrell, head of Nashville based marketing firm Space Age Marketing; he convinced him to sponsor his race team and help him buy an appropriate race car. Wright left this meeting with a tractor trailer for transport, $30,000 to purchase the car, and $7,500 for other expenses.
Wright then turned to NASCAR driver Sterling Marlin and negotiated the purchase of a 1981 Chevrolet Monte Carlo for $20,700 giving Marlin $17,000 in cash and an additional $3,700 check. Marlin was suspicious of this newcomer with so much money to throw around so he decided to follow Wright to Talladega and serve as his crew chief.
Following this, Wright continued to write checks including $1,500 to Goodyear, $1,200 to driver Travis Tiller for spare parts, $168 to the Southern Textile Association for racing jackets, as well as various other checks for other odds and ends.
Cracks in the Facade:
It wasn’t long after arriving at Talladega that Wright’s story began to fall apart. Wright’s alleged sponsors Haggard and Sheppard both claimed to have never met Wright and denied ever sponsoring him. Moreover, no other NASCAR drivers could ever recall competing against him in any Grand National races. Wright countered these allegations by saying that he had been premature in announcing his sponsorship deals but swore that several deals with country music stars were in the works. As for his racing credentials, Wright conceded that he had never competed in a Grand National race but did compete in the lesser Sportsman class races that took place at Grand National racetracks.
Even this claim came off as dubious. Wright’s crew chief Marlin would later recall “[Wright] kept asking questions any driver should have known. He didn’t seem to know much about what was going on.” This was especially evident during the qualifying trials where Wright spun out and crashed into a wall during his second lap. Fortunately for Wright, the car was quickly repaired and he managed to qualify for the race starting in 36th, pretty far into the pack for someone with so much alleged experience.
Wright’s story was falling apart, but at this point it hardly mattered. Wright had his credentials, his car, and a starting position. He was off to the races.
Start Your Engines:
The 1982 Winston 500 was broadcast
nationwide on ESPN. Wright’s car is seen briefly several times as the camera pans over the field. Little attention is paid to the rookie driver and he is mentioned only in passing when the drivers of the race are discussed.
The race ran for 4 laps before a crash forced a yellow flag which lasted for another 6 laps. Once the green flag was back out, Wright lasted another 3 laps before being disqualified. Sources differ on whether Wright dropped out of the race due to engine trouble or he was disqualified for driving too slow. There was little fanfare for the end of Wright’s brief 13 lap race (seen at about 17:20 in the YouTube Video) with ESPN commentator Larry Nuber saying “...the black flag coming out for one of the back markers... Perhaps a little bit of inexperience on the young driver, well he's not that young in experience in terms of his years in Grand National racing...”
Catch Me If You Can:
Wright, having not technically come in last place, was entitled to a cash reward of $1,545. Wright collected his money, abandoned his car, equipment, and crew at the track and took off in the tractor trailer he had gotten from Terrell.
The $3,400 check paid to Marlin for the car came back as invalid. Marlin later told the press, “I knew something funny was going on. When the check came back it didn’t really surprise me. I kind of expected it.”
NASCAR officials, to whom Wright had written $1,500 in bad checks for licenses and passes for him and his crew, were shocked at the whole situation. Field manager Doyle Ford stated in an interview that he’d “been in the business for 24 years and had never run into a case like this.”
“It was strictly a con operation” said Terrell, who had given nearly $40,000 to Wright in startup funds. I didn’t know anything about racing and he really got me good.”
Wright’s other checks also bounced including the $1,200 check to driver Travis Tiller, the $168 check to Southern Textile, and the $1,500 check to Goodyear Tires. Wright was also said to have defrauded $4,500 from his landlord in Hendersonville Tennessee, $700 from South Central Bell for long distance calls made to his mother in Virginia, and another $10,000 from the United Trappers Marketing Association.
All told, Wright’s antics cost his victims over $60,000 in 1982 or about $163,000 in 2021.
The Wright Side of History:
Wright’s con job made sports headlines across the country. NASCAR had warrants issued for his arrest, and Terrell hired a private investigator to attempt to track the man down. Nothing came of these efforts and by 1983 Wright had largely faded from mainstream attention.
Many have speculated about Wright’s motives. After all, if it was money he was after surely there were less visible and easier con jobs he could have pulled. Was he after notoriety? Glory?
One theory states that Wright had no intention to defraud all of his victims but instead conceived a half baked plan to kickstart a professional racing career. Had Wright won or at least completed the race he could have started paying back all of the money he “borrowed.”
Others said he was nothing more than a thrill seeker who was in way over his head. “This was an unprecedented case because it’s unusual for somebody as obviously unqualified as Wright was to try to get into a race.” NASCAR field manager Doyle Ford explained, “First of all there’s the expense, $30,000 or more for just a race car, not to mention the danger. A guy who doesn’t know what he’s doing could easily get killed out there.”
To this day, the true identity and motive of NASCARs mystery driver remain just that, a mystery. Regardless of this, Wright has left behind a rather interesting and lasting legacy. He is still listed in official NASCAR results as having one start in the 1982 Winston 500.
In the end, the fact that a wholly unqualified driver managed to talk their way into the major leagues of racing, qualify for the race, not come in last place, and then completely vanish is nothing short of extraordinary. A reporter for UPI put it best, “If he could have driven as fast as he talked, L.W Wright would be a NASCAR champion now.”
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