It's a bleak irony that neither O'Quinn nor his assistant, Johnny Lee Cutliff (also killed), were wearing seatbelts when the Chevrolet Suburban hit a tree.

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There is very little asked about the victim's race, nothing asked about why they vandalized the church, and few questions asked about the description of Johnny Lee Butts.

CNN: Victim's son: 'They ran him over because he was black'

And there is still something else -- a disturbing incident that occurred not long after Johnny Lee Butts was killed and just around the corner: Four young African-American boys say they were walking on the shoulder of Smart Road when two white men in a white Jeep aimed straight for them, scaring them into the ditch.

CNN: Victim's son: 'They ran him over because he was black'

It has given its fans countless thrills, ever since Lee Petty (daddy of Richard) sped to the checkered flag in his Olds simultaneously with Johnny Beauchamp's T-Bird in a photo finish that required three days to sort out.

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