Daniel Hilsabeck found some of his belongings missing after racing with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. While at Ocala Speedway, a thief had apparently entered the truck portion of his hauler and stole cash secreted away in his latched closet. Now, a $1,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the arrest of that suspect.
Sunday, Hilsabeck posted on Facebook what had happened. Monday, two more victims who attended Ocala Speedway had come forward. An intruder entered one camper while occupied and the owner got a good look at the suspect.
Hilsabeck said he lost $11,800, comprised $3,600 of cash winnings he earned at Golden Isles Speedway and at All-Tech Raceway, and the rest brought just in case.
“If someone knew we were paid in cash, they would have been looking for just that cash — but they got more,” Hilsabeck, of Earlham, Iowa, said. “I was going to be on the road for six weeks, so I brought emergency cash in case I needed it.”
Hilsabeck discovered the cash was missing when he arrived at Volusia Speedway Park early Sunday morning to race with the World of Outlaws.
“It was 2 a.m. when we pulled into the pits,” said Hilsabeck. “I went into the cabinet to get a change of clothes. I kept the money under my jeans. No one else knew it was there — I didn’t tell a soul. I could not believe it wasn’t there. Nothing else was stolen. There were new AirPods sitting there and they were not taken.”
Hilsabeck called the police, who arrived and dusted his rig for fingerprints. Reports were taken from the two other victims of the thief.
“The victim who got a good look at the thief was searching the pits at Volusia Speedway Park with authorities,” Hilsabeck said. “If he was in the pits at Ocala Speedway, there is a chance he would here at Volusia. It feels more promising we could find the thief now that other victims have come forward.”
Daniel Hilsbeck Racing posted this update on Facebook at 8:33 p.m. on February 11:
“Someone out there knows something or saw something. If that’s you, there’s now a reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the theft in Ocala. Do the right thing.
“Be aware of your surroundings and look around. If there’s large amounts of cash, credit cards that don’t belong to that person or prescription medications that also don’t belong to them – please call the number below.
“Please share this, and please help us find the individual(s) that did this.”
If you have information about theft, the team said to call 385-523-6335.
Mike Adaskaveg 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.
