Tom Mitchell, owner of a NASCAR Ford Truck Series team, died over a decade ago, but he’s survived by a priceless collection of vehicles that have sadly sat abandoned for quite some time. YouTuber Stringer Media was able to gain access to Mitchell’s collection, documenting the somewhat sobering state of the Blue Oval vehicles that have been lost to time.
Stringer declines to disclose the exact location of these vehicles in the interest of protecting them from vandals. All of them are parked inside a small museum on the grounds of an RV park formerly owned by Mitchell, also abandoned. The auto museum houses half a dozen cars and display cases commemorating important NASCAR races that Mitchell’s team, Circle Bar Racing, participated in.
There are a few open wheel race cars inside the abandoned museum, parked alongside a NASCAR Ford Thunderbird stock car that belonged to Mitchell’s team. Right next to it sits a derelict Ford GT40. All the tires are flat, and Stringer comments that it’s depressing to see such a beautiful vehicle stuck in time.
The Ford GT40 is accompanied by a bright yellow Ford pickup that’s surprisingly clean, the engine bay still shiny with chrome. There’s also a NASCAR Ford truck, along with several boats owned by Mitchell. Behind a large collection of trophies sits a Shelby Cobra, let to rot. It’s in incredible shape, having been inside its entire life. And, finally, there’s an orange and blue Ford Bronco that’s fairly clean itself, but now, just sits parked.
Stringer says Mitchell’s family used to come air up the tires, but now, the vehicles have been abandoned for a while. Mitchell died in 2014, just four years after he shuttered his NASCAR Ford Truck Series team, which ran 336 races and racked up five victories compliments of driver Rick Crawford.
Mitchell’s collection mirrors that of an abandoned Ford dealership, which houses a handful of Blue Oval relics from the 1980s.
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