Stolen ’67 Fastback Found in Great Condition

By TMS Editor - September 15, 2015

mike chadwick stolen mustang

Stealing a truck is a terrible, horrible crime. Stealing a truck and an attached trailer, that’s even worse. But stealing a truck, trailer, and a prize-winning ’67 Mustang Fastback racecar, well, I’m no lawyer, but I’m pretty sure that’s a hanging offense.

But that’s what happened to Mike Chadwick of San Ramon last Tuesday, when he walked outside to find his $100,000, 1,150-horsepower dragster had been jacked in broad daylight. 2012’s Best Competition Car at the Sacramento Autorama was just plum gone. Poof. Can you imagine?

Authorities were alerted, and the search was on. Four days later, an Oakland police officer (aided by his patrol car’s license plate reader) discovered Chadwick’s F-250 abandoned in an industrial area. Within the hour, a police helicopter spotted a trailer that matched the description, about a mile from the truck. After a warrant was issued, police found the trailer, nestled into a cluttered storage yard. The prized Mustang was discovered inside in great condition, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

As of Saturday, no arrests have been made. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a human to arrest at the junk yard when the trailer was found. Just a couple of “friendly dogs.”

Since I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express once, I don’t feel like I’m overstepping to say this whole thing sounds awfully fishy. It sounds like someone knew that prized Mustang was in that trailer. They didn’t want the truck, which they abandoned. They wanted that Mustang (and you can see why). They even painted the trailer and removed all the decal, in hopes of disguising it, to keep the Mustang hidden. When police found the trailer, though, they could still see the words “Stroke of Luck Racing” etched into the side.

Stroke of luck indeed.