Dyno Don

Many fans of drag racing consider the most interesting era to be from the 1950s through the 1970s, the years when the sport really took off. During that period, so much changed from a speed and technology standpoint that people often refer to this time as the golden age of drag racing. Fans followed their favorite drivers and their favorite brands through the ranks as mildly modified door slammers from Junior Stock turned into Super Stock, Funny Cars, and Pro Stock.Drivers often became associated with a particular manufacturer, such as Chevy, Ford, or Chrysler through sponsorship, factory team rides, or sometimes simply their own preference. The more successful drivers became household names in the drag racing community. Chevy had Grumpy Jenkins, Pontiac had Arnie "the Farmer" Beswick, Mopar had Sox & Martin and "Dandy" Dick Landy, and Ford's most successful driver of the era was the legendary "Dyno Don" Nicholson.Nicholson'' first wins on a national level were actually in the early 1960s in Chevrolet products. He became extremely successful on the match-race circuit. Then, in 1964, he switched over to Mercury with the new Comet after General Motors enacted a factory ban on racing activities. He won 90 percent of his match races that year. He stuck with Ford and Mercury products and won throughout the 1960s and 1970s, even after Ford also pulled the plug on factory team sponsorship. He made it to the final rounds in nearly 50 national events during that period, in addition to winning championships, awards, and match races along the way.Innovator, hard worker, pioneer, hard racer, tough competitor, a true gentleman, and a man you couldn't dislike . . . These descriptions are shared by his colleagues and competitors throughout the course of his hall of fame career.