The Close Encounter of the Space Racer is a century-old chapter of Viltrumite history. Learning that Space Racer wielded the Infinity Ray, a weapon able to kill a Viltrumite, the empire sent Nolan to hunt him down, and Nolan sealed the nomad alive inside an asteroid.
This obscure but pivotal moment in Viltrumite history unfolded roughly a hundred years ago. Word reached the Viltrum Empire of the wandering Space Racer and his signature Infinity Ray, a weapon capable of slaying even a Viltrumite. To remove that threat before it could disrupt their conquest, the empire dispatched one of its finest fighters, Nolan.
The clash followed the empire's earlier run-in with the Rognarrs. Sent to confirm and eliminate the danger, the warrior known as the Great Nolan tracked Space Racer across the stars and fought him. Rather than strike a killing blow, Nolan trapped his opponent by entombing him alive within an asteroid, since Space Racer had to die of natural causes for his bond to the Infinity Ray to break. Nolan stashed the weapon far off in the asteroid field before flying home to Viltrum and reporting the job done.

Naruto vs Luffy with the twist nobody asked for: Luffy tickled Hinata on date night, and she kind of liked it. We break down the whole fight and commit to a winner....

There are no women on Namek. That isn't an oversight, it's the biology. Why we handed Piccolo the one thing his own species rules out, and why it had to be trap soul....
The Close Encounter of the Space Racer is a century old clash in Viltrumite history in which Nolan hunted down the wandering Space Racer over his Infinity Ray, a weapon capable of killing a Viltrumite.
The Viltrum Empire targeted Space Racer because he wielded the Infinity Ray, a weapon powerful enough to kill even a Viltrumite, and they wanted the threat removed before it could disrupt their conquest.
Rather than kill Space Racer outright, Nolan trapped him by sealing him alive inside an asteroid, since Space Racer had to die of natural causes for his bond to the Infinity Ray to break.
Nolan hid the Infinity Ray far off in the asteroid field before flying home to Viltrum and reporting the job done.
The Close Encounter of the Space Racer took place during the Thragg Era in the early 1900s, shown in a flashback in episode 2x06, It's Not That Simple.
Looking for more on Close Encounter of the Space Racer? The Dragon Ball Wiki on Fandom has a dedicated page with community notes.
View on FandomThis content is original writing by Daddy Jim Headquarters based on the Dragon Ball anime series, manga, and official materials. Episode and chapter references are cited where applicable.
Character and scene imagery on this site is original artwork by Daddy Jim Headquarters, not screenshots or licensed imagery. Official cover art is used on three types of pages for editorial commentary:
Official resources:
Daddy Jim Headquarters maintains this encyclopedia. If you spot an error, a translation issue, or something that doesn't look right, let us know.