Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

I received an upsetting call yesterday afternoon. It appears that we have had, what has been a great season and points chase, tarnished by a criminal element. Mike Urner, owner of the Rhine Auto #35 called me yesterday to inform me that their mechanical and engine issues which hindered them at LaSalle on Aug 29th were caused by sabotage which went unnoticed that night due to the rushed circumstances that forced them to hurry from one car to another, and then an engine change after that. The team attempted to use two different cars and three engines that night, all of which failed. Ofcourse Angell Park was Sunday and the team was out of engines, so on Monday all three engines were boxed up and shipped to the engine builder in PA. An alarming dscovery was made by the engine builder. Small gravel, pebble type material had been poured into their oil tanks, and directly into the engine itself on the primary car (thus that is why it wouldn't even turnover when pushed). Additionally gasoline had been added to the fuel jugs in the trailer, and those jugs were filled prior from a new drum of methanol which has since been tested with no gasoline found.
Mike by no means is blaming or pointing the finger at anyone within the IRA, but certainly wants us all aware of the incident, and is putting up a reward for anyone providing information that will lead to the arrest of the person(s) involved. The incident may be racing related, but could be of a personal nature against the team, someone on the team, or possibly a business vendetta against Mike. The person(s) who did this is familiar with the team and their surroundings, such as where the rig is kept, etc. Mike tells me the team had completed their prep and loaded everything Friday night, prior to LaSalle. Mike also noted that they do not typically lock the side door of the trailer, which made for an easy and undetectible entrance. The act was done in the trailer overnight after the team had loaded and between them arriving back on Saturday morning to depart.
I suggest and urge Mike to contact authorities, which I'm sure he has, and want to alert all our teams to beware and be proactive in securing their shops and trailers.
I sincerely want this scum caught. The cost of going racing is high as we all know, but to have something like this happen that costs any team tens of thousands of dollars off the track is criminal, and should be treated as such. The racing community is a tight one, which makes it a small one as news travels fast. I hope this expedites the conviction of the person(s) involved. I stand behind all IRA teams and want the guilty punished, but I also want it to clear any speculation the public may have that gets pointed in a negative manner towards our group.