This is not a scene from a Hal Needham movie. This really happened: At Talladega in 1986, a drunken race fan commandeered the pace car and led police on a 100-mph joy ride. Roll the video.
History records that on Sunday, May 4, 1986 in Talladega, Alabama, Bobby Allison won the Winston 500. However, we’re focused on an entirely different speed contest that took place on the same track earlier that day: the one between the Alabama law enforcement community and an inebriated 20 year-old race fan, one Darren Crowder.
Before the main event, Crowder, a Birmingham native, jumped into the red Trans-Am pace car parked on the front stretch and led authorities on a 100-mph chase around the speedway. He was ultimately stopped by a road block the officials set up in Turn 4, where, ESPN announcer Bob Jenkins dryly noted, “They’re dealing with him rather sternly.” Indeed. Video below.
I was at this event. Several of us went to the race and were “camping” in the infield. Due to a combination of adult beverages, and trying to attract the attention of certain young females, by the time we knew what was going on it was over. But it certainly was talked about, even at the next race that July.
When I think about the lengths I will go to avoid law enforcement personnel jn the Old Confederacy, and what this kid did to attract them…
I found over the years that cops were no different in Alabama than upstate New York, central California, or the upper mid-west. They all seemed to be cut from the same cloth and all worth avoiding as any encounter always seemed to result in my wallet being flushed clean(at the minimum).
But yeah, stealing the pace car at an enclosed race track is probably not gonna get you an invite to the local Mensa meeting.
I don’t know what kind of punishment the guy got but it was probably worth it.