Attempted theft of ITR during Track Attatck 2004
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From: Las Vegas, NV, USA
Attempted theft of ITR during Track Attatck 2004
This article is meant to be a warning for future participants in the "Track Attack" event series hosted by Primedia Group, publishers of Sport Compact Car, Honda Tuning, Super Street, and others. Before I recount this incident, I would like to say
that "Track Attack 2004" was great fun, well organized, and the Sport Compact Car crew were great people.
For those of you who don’t know about Track Attack, it consisted of a drag race event at Fomoso Raceway; a track day event at Buttonwillow Raceway; and tickets for the entire weekend of racing at Laguna Seca, including the Speedworld Challenge Touring Car and GT finals plus other events.
My wife and I decided we would skip the drag race event (the car is setup for road course use, neg. camber front and rear, front toe out, etc.) and meet the everyone at Buttonwillow Raceway on Friday at 7am. We left Las Vegas and arrived in Bakersfield at about 8pm, checking into the hotel. In preparation for the track day at Buttonwillow, we drove out to the track to make certain I could find it in the morning (It’s about 35 miles from Bakersfield).
The day at Buttonwillow had about seventy cars in attendance. Including everything from a Lamborghini to purpose-built track cars. The local SCCA ran the track event and did an expert job of making the event safe for everyone, as well as enjoyable.
After the track day I decided to pay for another night at the Hilton and get some much needed sleep before heading to Monterey for the races at Laguna Seca.
I went out to pack the car at 5:30am and found the driver’s side window broken out, and glass everywhere. There was also a scratch on the door just below the window. Damage was done to the internal window mechanism also I found out later.
I then informed the Hotel and called the Bakersfield Police Dept. The officer came out and took the report, agreeing that they were trying to steal the car and that something must have spooked the Bakersfield import street vermin before they could complete the process.
I had been warned by a good friend that Bakersfield is a “gangster town” and that they steal imports left and right there. Knowing this, the first night I parked the car in such a way that it could not be towed, and removed the ECU. The second night I parked the car out in front of the lobby in plain view of the front desk. I was very tired from the day at the track, and decided the car would be ok where it was parked, and did not remove the ECU.
If they had not stopped, these scumbags would now be the proud owners of a beautiful mint ITR. My wife and I decided we were not going to let this ruin our vacation, so I cleaned up the glass, taped up the window with plastic and drove to Monterey for the Laguna Seca events on Sunday. We took taxis where we needed to go in Monterey and had the glass repaired before the nine hour drive back to Las Vegas on Monday. It is going to cost about $1,000 to repair all the damage caused by these creeps.
I will never again use the ITR as a vacation vehicle, or leave it outside at a Hotel. The only course of action is to drive to the out-of-town track, leave the car at the track and get a ride back to the hotel. The other option is to get rid of the ITR and buy an EVO VIII, leaving all this insanity behind.
that "Track Attack 2004" was great fun, well organized, and the Sport Compact Car crew were great people.
For those of you who don’t know about Track Attack, it consisted of a drag race event at Fomoso Raceway; a track day event at Buttonwillow Raceway; and tickets for the entire weekend of racing at Laguna Seca, including the Speedworld Challenge Touring Car and GT finals plus other events.
My wife and I decided we would skip the drag race event (the car is setup for road course use, neg. camber front and rear, front toe out, etc.) and meet the everyone at Buttonwillow Raceway on Friday at 7am. We left Las Vegas and arrived in Bakersfield at about 8pm, checking into the hotel. In preparation for the track day at Buttonwillow, we drove out to the track to make certain I could find it in the morning (It’s about 35 miles from Bakersfield).
The day at Buttonwillow had about seventy cars in attendance. Including everything from a Lamborghini to purpose-built track cars. The local SCCA ran the track event and did an expert job of making the event safe for everyone, as well as enjoyable.
After the track day I decided to pay for another night at the Hilton and get some much needed sleep before heading to Monterey for the races at Laguna Seca.
I went out to pack the car at 5:30am and found the driver’s side window broken out, and glass everywhere. There was also a scratch on the door just below the window. Damage was done to the internal window mechanism also I found out later.
I then informed the Hotel and called the Bakersfield Police Dept. The officer came out and took the report, agreeing that they were trying to steal the car and that something must have spooked the Bakersfield import street vermin before they could complete the process.
I had been warned by a good friend that Bakersfield is a “gangster town” and that they steal imports left and right there. Knowing this, the first night I parked the car in such a way that it could not be towed, and removed the ECU. The second night I parked the car out in front of the lobby in plain view of the front desk. I was very tired from the day at the track, and decided the car would be ok where it was parked, and did not remove the ECU.
If they had not stopped, these scumbags would now be the proud owners of a beautiful mint ITR. My wife and I decided we were not going to let this ruin our vacation, so I cleaned up the glass, taped up the window with plastic and drove to Monterey for the Laguna Seca events on Sunday. We took taxis where we needed to go in Monterey and had the glass repaired before the nine hour drive back to Las Vegas on Monday. It is going to cost about $1,000 to repair all the damage caused by these creeps.
I will never again use the ITR as a vacation vehicle, or leave it outside at a Hotel. The only course of action is to drive to the out-of-town track, leave the car at the track and get a ride back to the hotel. The other option is to get rid of the ITR and buy an EVO VIII, leaving all this insanity behind.
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From: San Diego, CA, USA
Re: Attempted theft of ITR during Track Attatck 2004 (Tomcat)
Damn that really sucks. The situation that ITR owners are in is ridiculous. Does your wife ever give you grief about owning the ITR? My girlfriend loves the ITR, but she hates the fact that we can never take it anywhere. 
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From: Charlotte
Re: Attempted theft of ITR during Track Attatck 2004 (Tomcat)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tomcat »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">My wife and I decided we were not going to let this ruin our vacation</TD></TR></TABLE>
sorry to hear about the break in.
sorry to hear about the break in.
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From: Las Vegas, NV, USA
Re: Attempted theft of ITR during Track Attatck 2004 (cryptikman)
My wife has always felt that I am overly cautious about where I leave the ITR parked. She no longer has this impression...
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From: Brookfield il, usa
Re: Attempted theft of ITR during Track Attatck 2004 (Tomcat)
that sucks 
i took my r to cap cod 2 months ago, and on the way there me and my wife
stopped at her moms house for one night in ohio. man, i was so paranoid to leave
it outside. and her mom lives in this little town.
i took my r to cap cod 2 months ago, and on the way there me and my wife
stopped at her moms house for one night in ohio. man, i was so paranoid to leave
it outside. and her mom lives in this little town.
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Joined: Sep 2001
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From: Cali
Re: Attempted theft of ITR during Track Attatck 2004 (Tomcat)
sorry to hear about your window, but luckily they did not take.
I was the other ITR at the Track Attack.
We stayed at a hotel at the outskirts of Buttonwillow and bakersfield, where pretty much only truckers stop. I always think that is a good idea. it was only a 4 hr drive home for me then a 1hr drive to Monterey the next morning, too bad you did not have the same luxury.
I would say get a car cover, that will at least help keep the hidden from plain view next time.
I was the other ITR at the Track Attack.
We stayed at a hotel at the outskirts of Buttonwillow and bakersfield, where pretty much only truckers stop. I always think that is a good idea. it was only a 4 hr drive home for me then a 1hr drive to Monterey the next morning, too bad you did not have the same luxury.
I would say get a car cover, that will at least help keep the hidden from plain view next time.
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Joined: Oct 2002
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From: Las Vegas, NV, USA
Re: Attempted theft of ITR during Track Attatck 2004 (Renegade)
Good to hear from you, we had a couple short conversations during the event. The car cover is not a bad idea...
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From: Southern California, U.S.A.
Re: Attempted theft of ITR during Track Attatck 2004 (Mugen Mike)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Mugen Mike »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Where's the 
icon when you need it?
</TD></TR></TABLE>
This ITR theft thing has gone beyond the absurd.
icon when you need it?</TD></TR></TABLE>
This ITR theft thing has gone beyond the absurd.
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Joined: Mar 2004
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From: USA
Re: Attempted theft of ITR during Track Attatck 2004 (b19coupe)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by b19coupe »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
This ITR theft thing has gone beyond the absurd.</TD></TR></TABLE>
No doubt about it. Its getting to such a point [flame suit on] im just not going to let it bother me when i go out. i try to park in an area where if a theft went down people would see it, park in ways that it would be hard to steal/tow, and put in my ample shot of theft deterrent. If it happens, what else could i have done? Put the car in the garage for life and never enjoy it? Enjoy your car guys, it was meant to be driven. I'm really sorry you had to deal with this though Tomcat, and the headache some bitchass lowlife gave you.
This ITR theft thing has gone beyond the absurd.</TD></TR></TABLE>
No doubt about it. Its getting to such a point [flame suit on] im just not going to let it bother me when i go out. i try to park in an area where if a theft went down people would see it, park in ways that it would be hard to steal/tow, and put in my ample shot of theft deterrent. If it happens, what else could i have done? Put the car in the garage for life and never enjoy it? Enjoy your car guys, it was meant to be driven. I'm really sorry you had to deal with this though Tomcat, and the headache some bitchass lowlife gave you.
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From: Fairbanks
Re: Attempted theft of ITR during Track Attatck 2004 (Bryce)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Bryce »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
im just not going to let it bother me when i go out. i try to park in an area where if a theft went down people would see it, park in ways that it would be hard to steal/tow, and put in my ample shot of theft deterrent. If it happens, what else could i have done? Put the car in the garage for life and never enjoy it? Enjoy your car guys, it was meant to be driven. </TD></TR></TABLE>
Sure, the car is meant to be enjoyed. But, you have to realize that it is not a practical daily driver. I mean you can park it everywhere you want, but it's gonna cause you lots of a headache. In the end it'll be gone, if you don't take care of it and it sucks donkey ***** dealing with an insurance company. (& future insurance cost).
im just not going to let it bother me when i go out. i try to park in an area where if a theft went down people would see it, park in ways that it would be hard to steal/tow, and put in my ample shot of theft deterrent. If it happens, what else could i have done? Put the car in the garage for life and never enjoy it? Enjoy your car guys, it was meant to be driven. </TD></TR></TABLE>
Sure, the car is meant to be enjoyed. But, you have to realize that it is not a practical daily driver. I mean you can park it everywhere you want, but it's gonna cause you lots of a headache. In the end it'll be gone, if you don't take care of it and it sucks donkey ***** dealing with an insurance company. (& future insurance cost).
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From: Seattle, Wa, USA
Re: Attempted theft of ITR during Track Attatck 2004 (Tomcat)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tomcat »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
The other option is to get rid of the ITR and buy an EVO VIII, leaving all this insanity behind.
</TD></TR></TABLE>
i'm sure that the evo viii is a good option, but don't get discouraged.
keep her safe mang.
The other option is to get rid of the ITR and buy an EVO VIII, leaving all this insanity behind.
</TD></TR></TABLE>
i'm sure that the evo viii is a good option, but don't get discouraged.
keep her safe mang.
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