Just a few days after Jordan Anderson and his team finally completed their long trek home from Las Vegas Motor Speedway following an accident with an elk in New Mexico, the NASCAR world was rocked by the news that there was a warrant out for the arrest of the Camping World Truck Series driver.
According to the Rowan County, N.C. Sheriff’s Office, the charge was for possession of a stolen motor vehicle, a race truck that was involved in a crash at Texas Motor Speedway last November. The release from the Sheriff’s Office stated Anderson purchased the truck from Robert Newling, who had been hired to repair the truck in question that belonged to Mike Harmon.
“Robert Newling then took it upon himself to sell the race truck, that did not belong to him, and sold it to Jordan Anderson,” the news release said. “During the course of this investigation, investigators were able to determine that Mr. Anderson had reason to believe the truck he purchased from Mr. Newling was stolen.”
Anderson did not respond to requests for comment from any outlet last week and was silent on all his social media accounts until Tuesday afternoon (Oct. 2). It was then that he posted a statement that the charges had been dropped.
“In respect to the news that was published last week, I wanted to thank you all for your understanding in light of the situation, and continued support of my career,” the statement read. “We have been cooperating with the investigation through counsel since I was notified about there being a potential warrant for my arrest while we were racing in Las Vegas.
“My attorney has stayed in constant contact with the Rowan County District Attorney handling the case to reach a resolution, which has resulted in charges being dropped and a voluntary dismissal being filed earlier this morning without the need of a formal arrest.”
As for the truck that Rowan County Sheriff’s Office had attempted to pick up last week?
“The race truck in question was delivered earlier this week to a location desired by the Rowan County Sheriff’s [Office],” the statement continued. “I continue to maintain my innocence in this matter, and the fact that I bought the race truck in good faith with a bill of sale, unbeknownst of its history.”
Nothing in the bill of sale obtained by Kickin’ the Tires indicated who the previous owner of the truck was, though it did lay out exactly what the agreement between Jordan Anderson Racing and New Fab Race Cars included.
According to that same Kickin’ the Tires report, a source claimed the truck ended up in Anderson’s hands after Newling placed a mechanic’s lien on it after the owner failed to pay for the work in full.
“This has been a quite humbling lesson in being a new team owner and the importance of discerning who you do business with,” Anderson’s statement read. “I take great honor in representing to the best of my ability my fans, partners and family and am grateful for your grace, support and prayers through this all.
“Nine months ago, when we put into action the idea and dream of starting up our own team to compete, the main [idea] was, and is, to have faith, respect and integrity serve as the pillar to every action and decision that is made with ownership. My life verse has been and will continue to be Proverbs 3:5-6. I take great hope in knowing that God allows everything in life to happen for a reason and will apply what God has taught me through this as motivation to keep my relationship with Him first in everything that we do.”
Truckin’ Tidbits:
- The father of former Kyle Busch Motorsports driver Justin Boston has been sentenced to 10 years after being convicted in December of, “fraudulently luring investors in part to fund his son’s racing career.” If you recall, Boston was sidelined due to a lack of sponsorship payments during what was supposed to be a full-time campaign.
- Joey Gase plans to make his Truck Series debut at Talladega Superspeedway. He will pilot the No. 83 for Copp Motorsports in the Fred’s 250 powered by Coca-Cola.
- After one last weekend off while the NASCAR XFINITY Series and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway, the Truck Series will be back on track for five straight races to close out the 2018 season. Talladega Superspeedway begins that stretch as the cutoff race for the Round of 8. Following the checkered flag, the playoff field will be cut to six drivers heading into Martinsville Speedway. Grant Enfinger and Justin Haley have already locked themselves into the Round of 6 with victories at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park and Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
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