The Phantom of NASCAR
05/10/2022
Imagine that for a moment: A guy no one has ever heard of gets the opportunity to compete in a race in his country's top motorsport class, simply because he pays the entry fee. And nobody asks any questions - until the mysterious newcomer disappears after the race just as quickly and without a trace as he had appeared.
At the end of April 1982, a certain L.W. Wright registered himself and his team "Music City Racing" for the NASCAR race in Talladega (Alabama) on May 2. The man, who according to his own statement had already competed in 43 Grand National races, named several country singers from Nashville (Tennessee) as sponsors - who neither knew of their good fortune nor (when asked about it) had ever even heard of the alleged racing driver. Nevertheless, Wright was allowed to take part in qualifying for the Winston 500, where he qualified 36th out of 40 starting positions in his used Chevrolet Monte Carlo from the previous year.
However, the 500-mile race on Sunday ended for L.W. Wright after just 13 of 188 laps. According to the results lists, he retired with engine damage. According to other sources, he was disqualified because he was unable to maintain the minimum average speed of 180 miles per hour (290 km/h). It is quite possible that the first led to the second. The race commentary only says "black flag for one of the backmarkers" without further explanation. Either way, Wright parked his Chevy in the paddock after less than a tenth of the race distance.
He then collected his prize money for 39th place (David Simko had already been eliminated on lap 4) in the amount of 1545 dollars from the race organizers and disappeared - for the next 40 years. Only when all the cheques for cars, tires and spare parts bounced shortly afterwards did it dawn on the other participants that they had possibly been taken in by a fraudster.
Since then, wild speculation and abstruse myths have surrounded the mysterious guest starter, whose true identity and whereabouts remained a mystery for four decades. Until journalist and NASCAR historian Rick Houston was finally able to track him down at the beginning of this year. Now 73 years old, Larry Wright still owns his racing suit from the 1982 Winston 500 - and naturally remembers the events at Talladega a little differently. In an interview for Houston's Scene Vault podcast, Wright describes his view of things. A little skepticism is certainly advisable when listening - after all, Wright has fooled the motorsport world before.
Philipp Körner tells the whole story at Auto, Motor und Sport
