Stolen NASCAR Sprint Car found in woods: Report

Police in Georgia found a NASCAR Sprint Cup car that was stolen from a hotel parking lot days before the driver was scheduled to race.

Travis Kvapil's No. 44 race car was found Saturday morning in Loganville, Georgia — not far from where the trailer holding the car was taken — according to Team Xtreme Racing. It had been stolen early Friday morning.

Before police found the car, Kvapil said that he thought his race team was playing a joke on him when they called him about it. They still don't know who or why the trailer was ripped off but theorize the crook(s) didn't realize it contained the car.

Lost and Found section of the road. pic.twitter.com/L3cEdi9o0R
— Team XTREME Racing (@Teamxtreme44) February 28, 2015

Surveillance video shows a black pickup truck speeding off with a 15-foot trailer, which had the car inside. Team Xtreme racing owner John Cohen said today he believed the thieves were only after the trailer and did not realize the car, an extra engine, and $100,000 worth of spare parts were also inside.

Wow. Anyone near Atlanta find my stolen Cup car let me know! Unreal
— Travis Kvapil (@TravisKvapil) February 27, 2015

Despite finding the car, Kvapil will not be able to race in Sunday's Sprint Cup race. His team was forced to withdraw when it missed NASCAR's mandatory inspection on Friday.

Travis Kvapil has Sprint Cup car stolen from parking lot, out of Sunday’s race: Report

Travis Kvapil was slated to drive the No. 44 Team Xtreme Racing Chevrolet in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but the car was stolen Thursday night.

According to ESPN.com's Bob Pockrass, a trailer containing the car was taken from the parking lot of a hotel in Morrow, Georgia.

With the car now missing, Team Xtreme has no choice other than to withdraw from Sunday's race but, in an effort to potentially catch the perpetrator, Kvapil tweeted photos of the hijacked trailer:

Here it is......New Jersey plates pic.twitter.com/YayDb2Ya6u
— Travis Kvapil (@TravisKvapil) February 27, 2015

While you have to feel sorry for Kvapil and his one-car team — which had very little chance of winning at Atlanta —  it's funny to wonder how No. 44 will look cruising down I-75.

Kevin Ward Jr. died from massive blunt head trauma: Report

Kevin Ward Jr. died of massive blunt force trauma when he was hit by a race car driven by NASCAR star Tony Stewart, his autopsy has revealed.

The autopsy was completed on Monday, two days after the 20-year-old New York sprint car driver died after the incident on the track at Canandaigua Motorsports Park, Ontario County Sheriff Philip Povero said.

Authorities questioned Stewart following the tragedy on Saturday and went to Watkins Glen to talk to him again on Sunday — but Povero said there were no plans "at this time" to speak with him again.

Ward's funeral will be held on Thursday, according to the Empire Super Sprints website.

Povero repeated that there is no evidence that a crime was committed, and said authorities had a second video of the fatal incident that they were reviewing.

The second video shows the incident from a different angle, he said. There was no camera in Stewart's car that could have recorded the crash.

Other footage of the incident shows Stewart's car struck Ward as the helmeted driver stood on the dirt track after he hit a wall.

The crash occurred on lap 14 of a 25-lap race at the upstate New York track on Saturday evening.

Ward can then be seen getting out of his crashed car and walking towards other cars on the track before pointing a finger, apparently at Stewart.

A car swerves to avoid him, but when Stewart's car passes close to Ward, his right rear tire apparently hits him, and Ward was pulled beneath the car and thrown in the air.

In the next scene emergency workers are seen rushing to his aid. Ward was apparently not struck at racing speed, but sprint cars can go as fast at 140 mph.

After the tragedy, Stewart dropped out of the NASCAR event on Sunday.

According to his website, Kevin Ward Jr has been racing since age four and started Sprint Car racing in 2011. The  New York native was Empire Super Sprint rookie of the year in 2012 and this year was his fifth season racing the Empire Super Sprints.

Relatives of Kevin Ward Jr. call Tony Stewart a 'dick' for fatal collision: Report

Tony Stewart's change of heart to not race on Sunday, after running over sprint car driver Kevin Ward Jr. on Saturday night, did little to ease the pain family and friends of Ward are feeling while coping with the tragic incident.

While no charges are pending against Stewart after two police interviews, grieving members of Ward's inner circle are voicing their anger publicly after the death of the 20-year-old racer on the Watkins Glen racetrack.

In an emotional attack on the three-time NASCAR champion, Ward's aunt Wendi Ward, posted a furious message to Facebook on Sunday, labeling Stewart a "dick" following his fatal collision with the young racer, according to the Daily Mail.

Stating that Stewart has left her family with a "deep hurt that should not be there," Ward's comments are in stark contrast to the more measured official statement released by his parents, who were reportedly in the crowd when their son was hit and killed.

The family has said it "appreciates all the prayer and support" but that members "would like time to grieve" a day after Ward was killed on a racetrack when he was hit by a car driven by the 43-year-old NASCAR star.

However, they have asked for time to "grieve and wrap our heads around all of this."

But the angry aunt didn't hold back when she sarcastically posted "thanks for thinking of our family tony Stewart (sic) when you decided to be a dick."

And on Sunday, some members of the Ward family posted a group picture to Facebook of them wearing T-shirts embossed with artwork on the back from Ward's website and the message "Always and forever."

Stewart has expressed his remorse over the incident and race officials claim there was nothing going on between the two drivers before Ward got out of his wrecked car to confront Stewart inside the Canandaigua Motorsports Park..

"There's no history with these two drivers," said Chuck Miller, the series race director.

"That's the competitive nature of the game and the drivers around it. Any time Tony has raced with us, Kevin also raced. Tony's been good for us."

"He was a good kid, fun to be around," Miller said about Ward.

 "He was really talented and looked like a winner straight from the get-go."

Tony Stewart pulls out of NASCAR race after fatal crash: Report

Tony Stewart did an about face and pulled out of a NASCAR race at Watkins Glen Sunday, 12 hours after the three-time champion struck and killed a sprint car driver who had climbed from his car and was on the same dirt track trying to confront Stewart during a race.

Greg Zipadelli, competition director for Stewart-Haas Racing, said at a news conference that Stewart "feels strongly" about not racing Sunday following Kevin Ward Jr.'s fatal accident. 

The decision was a sudden change of heart for the organization, which had said when the track opened that Stewart would be behind the wheel of his No. 14 Chevrolet when the green flag waved at the New York track.

"We gave Tony some time to sleep on it. He feels strongly this is the right thing to do," Zipadelli said. "All you can do is what you feel is right, and we feel this is right. We get through today and do it the best we can as a group.

"He's going through a tough time. It's emotional for him."

Regan Smith will drive Stewart's car instead.

Ward had crashed following contact with Stewart one lap earlier and got out of his car as it was stopped along the fence. Graphic video of the incident (bottom) showed Ward walking from his crashed car onto the racing surface as cars circled by, and, as he gestured at Stewart's passing car, he was struck.

Authorities questioned Stewart but said no criminal charges were imminent. Stewart traveled to Watkins Glen International following police questioning.

Ontario County Sheriff Philip Povero said Stewart was "visibly shaken" and had been cooperative in the investigation. Authorities were asking spectators and others to turn over any video they recorded of the crash.

"This is right now being investigated as an on-track crash and I don't want to infer that there are criminal charges pending," Povero said. "When the investigation is completed, we will sit down with the district attorney and review it. But I want to make it very clear: there are no criminal charges pending at this time."

A witness said it appeared Ward was trying to confront Stewart, the three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion. The video showed Ward standing to the right of Stewart's familiar No. 14 car, which seemed to kick out from the rear and hit him.

Moments earlier, Ward and Stewart were racing side-by-side for position as they exited a turn. Ward was on the outside when Stewart, on the bottom, seemed to slide toward Ward's car and crowd him toward the wall. The rear tire of Stewart's car appeared to clip the front tire of Ward's car, and Ward spun into the fence.

Povero said Ward, who was wearing a black firesuit and black helmet, had walked into the racing area and one car swerved to avoid him before he was struck by Stewart.

"The next thing I could see, I didn't see (the other driver) anymore," witness Michael Messerly said. "It just seemed like he was suddenly gone."

A spokesman for Stewart's racing team called Ward's death a "tragic accident."