Aaron Fike vanished on July 7, 2007.
Seven days earlier, he had earned the first top-five finish of his remarkable rookie season, in NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series, delicately steering his 3,400-pound race car around the Memphis Motorsports Park at more than 120 mph. Through it all, he'd been calm enough to click his radio button and provide detailed information about how his Toyota Tundra was handling. For 200 laps, he'd hit his prescribed marks with precision and traded dents with his rivals. When the checkereds fell, he had climbed to eighth in the series standings; then he dutifully thanked his sponsors and told a national television audience about his hopes for the season's second half. After thanking his team, he drove into the night, to Cincinnati and the next race at the Kentucky Speedway.
All in all, a good night at the track—especially for someone who'd shot up heroin that day.
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