Tulsa Racing Legend's Family Searches For Stolen Memorabilia

The family of a Tulsa auto racing legend is desperate to find his stolen memorabilia. The items were inside a pickup truck stolen the morning after Benny Taylor's burial.

Ben Taylor, Benny's son, said he's filed a police report and posted pictures of the stolen items on Facebook, but so far the search has come up short.

"My dad was a character, he loved attention, that's what brought him into racing. He loved the cheer of the crowd," Taylor said. 

Taylor said his father used racing to teach him about life.

"Persistence, ongoing, don't give up," Taylor said. "No matter how bad things are getting, just keep going."

A few years ago, Taylor's family started seeing changes in his behavior.

"He could tell you any past or story and knew who everybody was just day to day things would just disappear," Taylor said. 

He was diagnosed with dementia soon afterward and after years of living with the disease, he passed away January 31.

Taylor said his father treasured memorabilia from his races and fans, so he decided to box up the majority of it and bring it to his dad's funeral. 

"They could point at the pictures and tell you what car, what race was won in that car," he said. 

Taylor said much of that memorabilia was still inside the truck when it disappeared the morning after the funeral.

"My nephew ran to Reasor's to grab some stuff for breakfast, came back out and the truck was gone," Taylor said. 

He said it took some time for him to realize that some of the most precious memories from his father's racing career were gone too. 

"Older drivers brought memorabilia to us which was nice and had some big prints made that were lost in the truck. Stuff that was quite special," he said. 

Taylor said he's not worried about the truck, he just wants his father's treasures back.

Anyone with information is asked to call Tulsa police.