DPTJ Script: Meet L.W. Wright, the NASCAR driver that never existed

This year, I'm dropping full scripts for my DPTJ episodes so you can read along,

Racing drivers have been competing under fake names since the dawn of the automobile. Some of racing's original rich aristocrats wanted to protect their identity from a disapproving family who might yoink their inheritance at a moment’s notice. Some drivers just didn't want to hurt mom's feelings — especially if they had a sibling who had gotten hurt behind the wheel. Some were women trying to get away with racing under an ambiguous name. Still others opted to race under a name that was kiiiind of reminiscent of their own, but with a few little changes to keep some distance

But at least one driver competing under a kinda-sorta fake name in the NASCAR world was L. W. Wright.

See, L. W. Wright turned up out of nowhere to compete in exactly one race, the 1982 Winston 500. He did so with a whole lot of confidence, a whole lot of lies, and a competition license that NASCAR was legally required to issue him. After 13 laps, he pulled into the pits at Talladega Superspeedway, and he disappeared for four decades, leaving behind a whole lot of bounced checks and unanswered questions in his wake.

Who was LW Wright, the man who became known as the DB Cooper of auto racing? What became of him? In today's episode of “Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys,” we're going to find out.