Waltrip gives car to Iraq war veteran victimized by scam

After hearing about an Iraq war veteran who was victimized by an Internet scam, former NASCAR champion Darrell Waltrip stepped in and gave the man a 2004 Honda Accord on Tuesday. The vehicle has a Kelley Blue Book retail value of about $13,000. "It's beyond awesome,'' said Jay Strobino, 24, of Franklin, who lost $5,500 trying to buy a used Honda Accord on Craigslist earlier this year. He wired the money to a scam artist who claimed to be heading out soon for a military deployment, setting up a fake WorldPay Web site to handle the purchase.

Strobino's story appeared in The Tennessean on Tuesday in an article about the growing sophistication of Internet fraud. Waltrip said the general manager of his Franklin auto dealership, John Gallagher, alerted him to the story and recommended the vehicle giveaway. "I thought that's a no-brainer — let's help this kid out,'' Waltrip said after handing Strobino the keys at Darrell Waltrip Honda Volvo on Tuesday. "There are so many fake sites,'' he said. "You really have to be sure. We're in the car business, and he got ripped off by someone pretending to be real."

Waltrip said he also was motivated by Strobino's military service. Strobino, who was injured in a firefight south of Baghdad in 2004, is a Silver Star medal recipient, the third highest-ranking military honor. When hearing the Honda dealership was going to give him a car Tuesday, Strobino, who described himself as being "broke," said simply: "Are you serious?" Tennessean