There have numerous cases of spectators entering a live race track in their road-going vehicle, but NASCAR hosted a famous case of a fan stealing the pace car.
Back in 1986 before the Winston 500 at Talladega 20-year-old Darren Crowder did the unthinkable by taking the pace car for a joy ride.
The Pontiac Trans Am was prepped for its pre-race parade laps, but Crowder jumped behind the wheel to the amazement of the commentary team as the broadcast cut to the red sports car lapping the Superspeedway.
Crowder in fact hadn’t planned to attend the race, but had been on his way to test drive a motorcycle and was caught in race day traffic. Deciding to buy a ticket, Crowder managed to enter the infield, pass security to enter pit road and jump into the unlocked Pontiac Trans Am.
Hitting speeds of more than. 100 miles per hour
Police were in hot pursuit, but were unable to catch the stolen Pontiac until track staff used support vehicles to block the circuit, with the officers ripping Crowder out of the Trans Am and immediately arrested him.
Crowder was taken to Talladega County Jail and held on a $10,000 bond, but post the incident there is no much news on the joyrider since.