John Nickle

Greg Reimer 7376 · 09-21-2023, 03:16 PM

Learned this morning that long time bracket racer and occasional Stock Eliminator racer John Nickel passed away. He has been at this stuff for as long as anybody. He was a real character, fun to have around, loved to talk, that's for sure. He will be missed.i think he knew nearly everybody.

Chuck Stubeck · 09-21-2023, 07:32 PM

Sorry to hear about John's passing. Back in my bracket days at LACR John (with his Charger) and I with my Road Runner competed in bracket 1. Those days were quite fun. John always had a good sense of humor. I recall one time when a certain racer (who I won't mention) always stayed in the back to pick off ducks. Well as it turned out John stepped up and got paired with this individual. John put him on the trailer. RIP John.

Chuck Stubeck SS/FA 718 B-1 7228 in the LACR days.

MR DERBY CITY · 09-21-2023, 07:55 PM

Met John and his bud Vic Hobbs back in the day while racing at Pomona….Prayers are sent for John and his friends/family …GODSPEED.!!!

Jon Sarrett · 09-22-2023, 08:12 AM

Haven't seen him in a long time but he was a very eccentric fellow and an all around good dude. HIs wagon was a staple for a long time. Condolences to the family.

Greg Reimer 7376 · 09-22-2023, 11:30 AM

One of the favorite if not typical John Nickel escapades was him always finding new ways to win. Back in the OCIR/Palmdale days, he had a well used gold Chevy pickup that probably ran about 17.50 seconds. He had a piece of a broom handle that stuck up from one of the stake pockets and he used it as a visual device to size up where his much faster opponent was in the other lane. He knew how to determine whether to lift or drive it out at the finish line based on where the broom handle was in his line of sight. He did pretty well that way, later when he had his '66 Chevy wagon, he could use the door frame pillars on the right rear door to do the same thing. He was pretty good at going rounds. Some of his winning concoctions were definitely original.

Gary Smith · 09-22-2023, 11:47 AM

John was a regular fixture at OCIR, was never a mean bone in his body. He greeted me in the tech line during the '11 Bakersfield March Meet when I was racing my late father's '65 Mustang. It was the first time we'd seen each other in over 30 years, And being right after my dad's passing, it was a really uplifting meeting. Dad was pretty tight with the South Bay Racers gang, John included. The last time I saw John was at a Palmdale coffee shop he frequented, I think in '15. We sat & bench raced for at least an hour. John was truly one of a kind, extremely knowledgeable and one of the biggest hearts in the world. He will be sorely missed by many.

09-21-2023, 03:16 PM	#1
Greg Reimer 7376 VIP Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Glendora,Calif. Posts: 1,135 Likes: 172 Liked 704 Times in 218 Posts	John Nickle Learned this morning that long time bracket racer and occasional Stock Eliminator racer John Nickel passed away. He has been at this stuff for as long as anybody. He was a real character, fun to have around, loved to talk, that's for sure. He will be missed.i think he knew nearly everybody.

09-21-2023, 07:32 PM	#2
Chuck Stubeck Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Chatsworth,Ca Posts: 71 Likes: 0 Liked 83 Times in 20 Posts	Re: John Nickle Sorry to hear about John's passing. Back in my bracket days at LACR John (with his Charger) and I with my Road Runner competed in bracket 1. Those days were quite fun. John always had a good sense of humor. I recall one time when a certain racer (who I won't mention) always stayed in the back to pick off ducks. Well as it turned out John stepped up and got paired with this individual. John put him on the trailer. RIP John. Chuck Stubeck SS/FA 718 B-1 7228 in the LACR days.

09-21-2023, 07:55 PM	#3
MR DERBY CITY VIP Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Derby City, USA Posts: 3,632 Likes: 1,081 Liked 7,917 Times in 1,515 Posts	Re: John Nickle Met John and his bud Vic Hobbs back in the day while racing at Pomona….Prayers are sent for John and his friends/family …GODSPEED.!!!

09-22-2023, 08:12 AM	#4
Jon Sarrett Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Sullivan, OH Posts: 310 Likes: 826 Liked 140 Times in 46 Posts	Re: John Nickle Haven't seen him in a long time but he was a very eccentric fellow and an all around good dude. HIs wagon was a staple for a long time. Condolences to the family. __________________ Jon Sarrett Stock 3779

09-22-2023, 11:30 AM	#5
Greg Reimer 7376 VIP Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Glendora,Calif. Posts: 1,135 Likes: 172 Liked 704 Times in 218 Posts	Re: John Nickle One of the favorite if not typical John Nickel escapades was him always finding new ways to win. Back in the OCIR/Palmdale days, he had a well used gold Chevy pickup that probably ran about 17.50 seconds. He had a piece of a broom handle that stuck up from one of the stake pockets and he used it as a visual device to size up where his much faster opponent was in the other lane. He knew how to determine whether to lift or drive it out at the finish line based on where the broom handle was in his line of sight. He did pretty well that way, later when he had his '66 Chevy wagon, he could use the door frame pillars on the right rear door to do the same thing. He was pretty good at going rounds. Some of his winning concoctions were definitely original.

09-22-2023, 11:47 AM	#6
Gary Smith Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Greensboro, NC Posts: 820 Likes: 9 Liked 132 Times in 30 Posts	Re: John Nickle John was a regular fixture at OCIR, was never a mean bone in his body. He greeted me in the tech line during the '11 Bakersfield March Meet when I was racing my late father's '65 Mustang. It was the first time we'd seen each other in over 30 years, And being right after my dad's passing, it was a really uplifting meeting. Dad was pretty tight with the South Bay Racers gang, John included. The last time I saw John was at a Palmdale coffee shop he frequented, I think in '15. We sat & bench raced for at least an hour. John was truly one of a kind, extremely knowledgeable and one of the biggest hearts in the world. He will be sorely missed by many. __________________ Gary Smith "another broke racer spectating"