A string of thefts has hit Antioch Speedway in California. The track lost two Honda quads, a golf cart, two pumps used to pump water from the infield, and two Honda generators.
“We’ve had a stolen golf cart before, but nothing like this,” said Chad Chadwick, promoter of 3/8-mile dirt oval. “Whomever did this cut a hole in the fencing at the back of the fairgrounds, and escaped with the stolen property along the railroad tracks that run near the speedway.”
The track kept the equipment in shipping containers. The perpetrators broke the hasps that had high-grade padlocks on them. When Chadwick thought they were done, they returned for more.
“They used our quad to come back and steal our property again after we thought we had secured it well,” Chadwick said. “They even dragged the second quad with the first one they had stolen days earlier — after we thought we had it secured from theft.”
Chadwick has since installed alarms and a camera system. A trespasser set off the security system in recent days, and a camera captured the offender (pictured).
“This person was trying to break into the office, and didn’t know we had alarmed it,” said Chadwick. “They took off before I could get to the track and catch them.”
The Contra Costa Sheriff is investigating the thefts since they occurred on county property.
Chadwick, who had purchased the speedway in 2020, has dealt with two years of promoting the track amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. The loss of costly equipment comes at a time when the track struggles to survive. Chadwick has also taken additional measures to protect the remaining assets at Antioch Speedway.
“I parked the grader right up against the container doors,” Chadwick said. “They’ll have to move the grader to get to what is left in the containers. Everything is alarmed now. It’s sad that things have gotten this far out of control.”
If you have any information related to the string of thefts, Chadwick advises you to call Larry Adams, who monitors security for Antioch Speedway, at 925-522-1155.
The Outside Groove Director of Photography has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
