Driving a NASCAR car is a dream for many, and Yancy Cupp was kind enough to make that dream available on eBay. He had a retired race truck, a VIN plate stripped from an unrelated vehicle, and a $10,000 asking price. What he didn’t have was a story that would hold up once the Pennsylvania State Police showed up.

Where Yancy Cupp went wrong with his illegal NASCAR Truck

Cupp, a 52-year-old resident of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, was caught by authorities while trying to sell his old NASCAR truck. While none of those facts are an issue, the problem was that the vehicle was not street-legal. Instead of following a proper procedure for conversion, Cupp had put up a false listing for the 1999 Chevrolet S10 model.

The police claimed that he faked the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) using one from a different car. The truck in Cupp’s possession never had a VIN registered in any state in the country.

According to ABC27, Cupp had purchased the truck from an unknown source, who later confirmed to troopers that the model had never been converted into a road-legal vehicle. After speaking with the former owner, troopers also conducted a physical inspection of the truck.

For his actions, Cupp now faces multiple charges. According to court records, he was arraigned on Wednesday before a Cumberland County magistrate on felony fraud, theft, and deception charges. After his arraignment, the case was sent to court for a preliminary hearing. Police later sold the retired Chevrolet truck to Carlisle Auto Auction for $10,000. But Cupp couldn’t get away.

Cupp was charged with dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, alteration or destruction of a vehicle identification number, theft by deception, forgery, criminal use of a communication facility, deceptive business practices, false application for a certificate of title or registration, tampering with public records, and Board of Vehicles Act violations. Cupp is scheduled to appear for a formal arraignment on August 10 before the Cumberland County Court.

Police were able to identify the truck as illegal during their inspection because it lacked several requirements needed for a NASCAR truck to become road legal.

According to an example listed on the Carlisle Auto Auction website, a NASCAR truck can only become road legal if it has high and low beam headlights, turn signals, and a horn. It also has to pass state inspections to receive a Pennsylvania license plate, inspection sticker, and emissions sticker. One such road-legal NASCAR truck listed by the auction house was previously raced by former NASCAR driver Norm Benning.

The Truck produces 400 HP with its V-8 engine and has a Turbo 400 transmission. Looking at this specific example, it is clear that the lies couldn’t have held up in front of the law.

One of the biggest issues is that these vehicles are not designed for everyday driving. They are difficult to enter and exit, and they also lack several basic features found in normal road cars. In many ways, a NASCAR vehicle would be unsafe for public roads.

That said, some enthusiasts have still managed to convert retired NASCAR vehicles into road-legal cars for everyday use without compromising public safety.

NASCAR Cars that you CAN drive on the road

One of the best examples of a NASCAR vehicle that can be driven on the road is a “kit car” or “show car.” As the name suggests, these cars retain a resemblance to their NASCAR counterparts, but underneath, they are essentially modified vehicles built with either a regular or NASCAR-style chassis.

In 2008, one such project car was auctioned for $69,000. It was a Mark Martin show car that used a NASCAR-style tube chassis.

The Barrett-Jackson car collector auction has also featured a similar “show model.” This particular car, equipped with a 4-speed transmission and a 418ci V8 engine, was built by ASVE into a NASCAR-style vehicle. It features a Joe Gibbs chassis, while the original 2003 Chevrolet body was replaced with a Ford body. According to the website, thousands of dollars were spent to make the car street legal and more user-friendly. The vehicle has also been driven for 1,600 miles.

This year, however, a real NASCAR vehicle with competition history was offered for $67,500 in Missouri. It was a former Roush Fenway Racing entry, RK-1140, that competed during the 2020 and 2021 NASCAR seasons. The car carried the No. 17 driven by Chris Buescher on multiple occasions. After it was retired in 2022, Rusty Wallace Racing took ownership and converted it into a street-legal vehicle for its NASCAR experience program.

It eventually became a Missouri-titled 1999 Historic Vehicle when its chassis was welded to a 1999 tube-frame special construction vehicle.

So, with such well-built and legitimate road-legal NASCAR examples already available, it was not very smart of Cupp to allegedly try selling his illegal vehicle fraudulently on eBay.