Nichels
Nichels Engineering was an American racing car builder and team owner. It was run by crew chief / mechanic Ray Nichels.
History
[edit]It competed in many genres of racing starting in Midget car racing.[1] From there, the team progressed to Indy cars including the Indianapolis 500, land speed records, and NASCAR Grand National Series. After driver Paul Goldsmith won the 1957 Daytona Beach Road Course race, Nichels became the primary car builder for Pontiac; it took over the role for all of the Chrysler products in 1963.[1] Nichels-built stock cars won national races in USAC, NASCAR, Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) and International Motor Contest Association (IMCA).[1] The team won the 1961 and 1962 USAC Stock Car championship with Goldsmith and the 1967 championship with Don White.[1] Nichels cars competed in two FIA World Championship races – the 1950 and 1954 Indy 500.
Awards
[edit]Ray Nichels was named to the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2010.[2]
Nichels Engineering Endurance Run (1961)
[edit]In 1961, Nichels, then a successful builder of race cars, prepared two production-based Pontiacs for a 24-hour endurance run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He assembled six drivers, three from USAC and three from NASCAR, taking turns in both cars.[3][4]
| Year | Date | Participating drivers | Car | Distance covered in 24 hours | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Nov 20-21 |  Paul Goldsmith Marvin Panch Fireball Roberts Len Sutton Rodger Ward Joe Weatherly
|
Pontiac Catalina | 2,576.241 miles | 107.343 mph |
| Pontiac Enforcer | 2,586.878 miles | 107.787 mph |
World Championship Indy 500 results
[edit]| Season | Driver | Grid | Classification | Points | Note | Race Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Paul Russo | 19 | 9 | Report | ||
| 1954 | Johnny Thomson | 4 | Ret | Retirement | Report |
Autobiographies
[edit]- Conversations with a Winner - The Ray Nichels Story, William LaDow. LaDow Publishing, July 2014 (scheduled)
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d LaDow, William. "Ray Nichels Biography". LaDow Publishing. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
- ^ "14 Welcomed As New Midget Hall Class". National Speed Sport News. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
- ^ "Speedway Sightings". Speedway Sightings. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
- ^ "Home". www.raynichels.com. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
External links
[edit]- Ray Nichels biography at LaDow Publishing website
- Nichels owner statistics at Racing-Reference
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