Monday morning rant: How could race car thief not even crank it up?

Some thief has himself in a jam straight out of one of the old "Dukes of Hazzard" shows.

The story is so out there, you could swear you were watching the old show that was taped not far from where it occurred. A thief stole an unmarked truck and trailer at a hotel in Georgia. So far, seems pretty believable, sadly in this day and age.

But when he opened the trailer, he found the No. 44 NASCAR Sprint Cup car driven by Travis Kvapil. Here is where it gets good. It seems he had no clue what he actually stole until he opened it.

Can you imagine his face when he opened the trailer and saw that shiny car?

How else do you explain the fact he left it on the side of an old road untouched. At least Team XTREME owner John Cohen said it looked that way.

"There was no damage whatsoever," Cohen told The Associated Press. "Nothing was taken off the car. Even the antennas that went to the radio were still in the seats."

So he never sat in it. Didn't start the engine? If you were going to steal a Cup car, you have to sit in it, don't you? I mean, no true NASCAR fan could resist that urge.

They later found the truck, so basically he wanted the trailer because that is all that has not shown up.

Boy, is this guy in hot water now. The car is estimated to cost $250,000, so charges will be steep when they catch him.

Sad part of the entire story is that Travis Kvapil, who needs every opportunity he can to land a full-time ride, was not able to race this weekend. So he missed not only an opportunity to get a win, but gain the points needed to compete this season.

"It's really bizarre," Kvapil told the Associated Press. "You can handle maybe getting a flat tire, or getting caught up in a wreck, or a blown engine, something that actually happens on the race track. Or you don't qualify, because you don't have enough speed. But to not even get a chance … that's pretty disheartening."

He was trying to keep it positive on Twitter, asking if anyone had seen his car on Friday.

But it's really not funny and I hope police catch this guy and really throw the book at him.