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LINKS Greg
Nikitenko TRACKS Knoxville
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How did you get started in racing?I think my interest in racing, and cars in general, can be traced back to two infamous gentleman who were best known for sliding across the hoods of cars with their doors welded shut. Yes, these men were the Dukes! As young boys, it was easy to see a clear resemblance between the Dukes and my brother, Tom, and I. Our dreams were close to theirs in what we could do, who we wanted to be, and where our hearts lied. The Dukes were always doing right, even if it sometimes meant doing a little wrong. Now that I'm grown up, I think I know why my dad watched this show...those shorts will never go out of style and I think everyone's garage has a poster of Catherine Bach. The Dukes entered most every house is some way or another and while the show was on our TV we had our very own version of the General Lee sitting outside in our driveway. By combining his own ideas with those of a few good friends, my father began building cars in the early 1970s. With the help of my Godfather Barney and my Uncle Bob, he built his first real racer, the #128 mod, a 1967 Chevelle SS with a 396ci engine mated to a four speed tranny. He had some minor success on the track and his stories are still treasured, rehashed, and laughed over. With children on the way, however, he decided to hang up the wheel. Some twenty years later, I like to think that I picked up where he left off. We still probably share the same goal—to be faster than you! My very first legal race (I had been playing around on the street since the state mistakenly gave me a license) was the Enduro at the 1995 North Dakota State Fair. I was driving for a local, retired racer, Marlyn Korslien. I put that old Mopar through the ringer, survived, and was hooked on racing! Two years later I stepped up to a Dakota Mod, later to an IMCA Mod, and 2008 will be my fourth year driving a winged sprint. |
