L. W. Wright
L. W. Wright | |||||||
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Born | Larry Earnest Wright April 17, 1949 Richlands, Virginia, U.S. | ||||||
Died | January 27, 2024 Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. | (aged 74)||||||
Nationality | American | ||||||
NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
1 race run over 1 year | |||||||
First race | 1982 Winston 500 (Talladega) | ||||||
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Larry Earnest Wright (April 17, 1949 – January 27, 2024), better known under alias L. W. Wright, was an American
Biography
Early life
Larry Earnest Wright was born on April 17, 1949, and grew up in
In an interview Wright stated that he had volunteered into the United States Army, to fight in the Vietnam War, however, he was never shipped to the frontlines. On April 18, 1968, his older brother, Grover C. Wright Jr. was killed in action during the conflict, in Biên Hòa Province, South Vietnam (now part of Vietnam). Larry cited it as a reason why he was never shipped there. Despite that, in another interview, he falsely stated, that he served three tours in Vietnam War, in the United States Army Special Forces.[1]
1982 Winston 500
In April 1982, William Dunaway of
Wright approached B. W. "Bernie" Terrell, head of Nashville-based Space Age Marketing, for assistance in buying and sponsoring a car. In addition to $30,000 to purchase the vehicle, Terrell gave him a semi-trailer truck and $7,500 to cover expenses.[4] He eventually bought a Chevrolet Monte Carlo from Sterling Marlin for $20,700 with $17,000 in cash and a check for the remainder; suspicious of the excessively high money spending, Marlin followed Wright to Talladega to serve as his crew chief.[5] Other payments included $1,500–1,800 to Goodyear for tires, $1,200 to driver Travis Tiller for parts, and $168 to the Southern Textile Association's Wayne Wilson for racing jackets.[6]
After Wright conducted a newspaper interview to promote his entry, Sheppard denied his involvement in the effort, with
Aftermath
Following the race, Wright disappeared and left the car at the speedway, where Terrell recovered it.
NASCAR arranged for arrest warrants, while Terrell hired a private investigator to search for Wright.[7] Wright was referred to as the "D. B. Cooper of NASCAR" by a Racing-Reference writer[9] and in a documentary aired on NASCAR Race Hub[10] for his immediate disappearance and unknown whereabouts.
Discovery, later life, and death
On April 29, 2022, Rick Houston of the Scene Vault Podcast announced that they had found Wright, releasing a podcast interview[11] with him on May 2, 2022, the 40th anniversary of Wright's infamous race and disappearance. The podcast announcement included an audio clip of Wright identifying himself.[12]
On February 13, 2023, Wright was arrested in
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Winston Cup Series
NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
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Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | NWCC | Pts | Ref | ||||||||
1982 | Music City Racing | 34 | Chevy | DAY | RCH
|
BRI
|
ATL
|
CAR
|
DAR
|
NWS
|
MAR | TAL 39 |
NSV DNQ |
DOV
|
CLT
|
POC
|
RSD | MCH
|
DAY
|
NSV
|
POC
|
TAL
|
MCH | BRI | DAR | RCH
|
DOV
|
NWS
|
CLT
|
MAR
|
CAR
|
ATL
|
RSD | NA | - | [14] |
References
- ^ a b c Houston, Rick (February 16, 2023). "L.W.: NASCAR's Biggest Mystery Lands Himself in Jail". Scene Vault Podcast. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
- ^ "If he could have driven as fast as he..." United Press International. June 23, 1982. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d Woody, Larry (June 22, 1982). "Officials Searching For 'Mystery Driver'". The Tennessean. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Ridley Heads List Of Second-Round Qualifiers". Grand National Scene. May 13, 1982. p. 9.
Two drivers, Bob Schact and L.W. Wright, were not fast enough and failed to make the field.
- ^ nascarman (June 9, 2015). "Historical Motorsports Stories writes: "The Curious Case of L.W. Wright"". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
- ^ The Strange Case of L.W. Wright on NASCAR Race Hub – Fox Sports, July 28, 2021
- ^ "Podcast". Scene Vault Podcast.
- ^ McGee, Ryan (May 2, 2022). "The story of L.W. Wright and one of NASCAR's enduring mysteries". ESPN. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
- ^ Ryan, Aaron (January 28, 2024). "L.W. Wright, The Fake NASCAR Driver Who Snuck Into A Race At Talladega Then Disappeared For 40 Years, Has Passed Away". Whiskey Riff.
- ^ "L.W. Wright – 1982 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
External links
- L. W. Wright driver statistics at Racing-Reference