More than 8,000 cars rolled into Joliet, Illinois to kick off Hot Rod magazine’s 2026 Power Tour, a celebratory cruise down Route 66 for the highway’s centennial. While the drivers slept at a Holiday Inn, someone helped themselves to two Corvettes and a Camaro.
A C7 Z06 with the Z07 package. A second Corvette. A Camaro. Gone. A Chevy SS, another Camaro, and a Dodge Challenger were damaged but not taken. The owners still had their keys in hand, which tells you everything about how this went down.
Joliet Police Sgt. Dwayne English said this was no crime of opportunity. The thefts appear coordinated, almost certainly executed with key fob-cloning devices, the kind of tech that lets a crew walk through a parking lot like they own it. Thousands of enthusiast-grade machines parked in rows at a hotel lot, their owners tucked in for the night. For the right kind of predator, that’s not a car show. That’s a buffet.
The C7 Z06 owner, identified only as Michael, was driving the tour with his brother-in-law. Both of their cars were stolen. His brother-in-law’s vehicle was eventually found in Dolton, Illinois, about 40 miles northeast.
It had already been crashed. Dolton police said multiple people fled the wreck scene. Nobody was apprehended.
“People should step up and work a little harder instead of taking from other people,” Michael told CBS. “What’s wrong with participating in humanity and giving instead of taking?”
It’s a fair question with no satisfying answer.
Joliet police coordinated with Dolton, but as of now there are no suspects, no arrests, and no indication that the remaining stolen vehicles have been recovered. Police are pointing tipsters to the Tri-County Auto Theft Task Force.
The Power Tour has been running for decades, a rolling celebration of American muscle that draws gearheads from across the country. This year’s edition carried extra weight. Route 66 turns 100, America turns 250, and Hot Rod magazine packaged the whole thing as a patriotic pilgrimage from Joliet to Tulsa, Oklahoma.
It’s supposed to be a victory lap for car culture. Instead, the first night became a crime scene.
Relay theft using fob cloners has been a growing plague for years now. Thieves can amplify the signal from a key fob sitting on a nightstand inside a hotel room, trick the car into thinking the owner is standing right there, and drive off without breaking a single window. It takes seconds. The technology costs a few hundred dollars online. Automakers have been slow to counter it, and owners are left stuffing their fobs in Faraday bags like it’s some kind of acceptable workaround.
Eight thousand cars in one place, parked overnight at predictable stops along a publicly announced route. The tour’s itinerary is published months in advance. Every hotel, every city, every date. For organized theft rings, that’s not just a target. It’s a schedule.
The cars these people build and drive on tours like this aren’t appliances. They’re years of weekends, thousands of dollars, and deeply personal. A crashed Corvette found in Dolton with its thieves scattered into the wind isn’t just property damage. It’s a gut punch.
Anyone with information can reach the task force at 815-724-4677 or tcat@joliet.gov. The tour rolls on. The owners are left behind.
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