$375,000 NASCAR race car stolen from hotel parking lot, driver turns to Twitter for clues

(Reuters) - NASCAR driver Travis Kvapil was left without a ride for this weekend's race after his orange stock car was stolen from a motel parking lot early Friday, forcing him to drop out of the event.

Kvapil, who only just joined the Team Xtreme racing team, and other tems members were staying at the Drury Inn in suburban Atlanta when they discovered that their truck, 26-foot trailer and the most valuable contents inside - their primary car and a backup engine - had vanished from the parking lot.

The car was Team Xtreme's only vehicle and it was forced to withdraw from Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, said owner John Cohen.

"Wow. Anyone near Atlanta find my stolen Cup car let me know! Unreal," Kvapil said on Twitter.

The theft of the items was valued at nearly $375,000, Morrow, Georgia, police said. Surveillance tapes show the thieves struck at about 5:30 a.m.

Cohen said the team would enter next weekend's race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

(Reporting by Steve Ginsburg in Washington; Editing by Bill Trott)

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