#5 Ryan Nichols
Invictus Tour 2008
www.InvictusTour.com
Salt Lake City, UT to Huntington Beach, CA (800 miles)
Started October 7th from Salt Lake City
Arriving - Friday, October 17th @ 5pm in Huntington Beach
(Electric Chair on Main St.)
He is an inspiration to us and we want to be there to support him.
Folks will be cheering him on along the Santa Ana river trail.
Antelope Valley Fair 2008
Demolition Derby
www.AVFair.com
September 1, 2008
Antelope Valley Fair - Lancaster, CA
Project Self-Sufficiency
Orange Crush 2008
July 20, 2008
Orange County Fair- Costa Mesa, CA
3pm Derby to support
Project Self-Sufficiency
Interior Office Solutions
Helping you build a better workplace
17800 Mitchell North
Irvine, CA 92614
www.interiorofficesolutions.com
Clean A Can
Helping you build a better workplace
840 W. Grove
Orange CA 92865
1-866-765-9935
www.cleanacan.com
Thank You Letter from Ryan:
Thank you all for your help on the demolition derby car. It is greatly
appreciated. I initially had no idea how many man/woman hours it would
take to get the car ready for the derby. I just assumed, like most of
the casual observers that a car could be "thrown together" with
minimal hours. Last year, Garret and I almost bought a car and naively
thought we could just grab a small group of friends to do the tearout
and then hire a welder to finish up the rest. We really had no idea
what we were getting into. Almost all of the people who said they
wanted to work on the derby car soon flaked out or were just plain
"wishy washy" with their commitments. Assuming we had been accepted
by Sunnyside Promotions to enter the derby, we would have been left with
a car that most certainly would not have been ready for the derby or
been safe enough to qualify due to the extra safety requirements.
First off, there would have been a long delay just getting me
approved for the derby. I was a newcomer and space was limited. This
obstacle, coupled with my unique circumstances were major issues yet
to be overcome. There were a lot of very legitimate concerns regarding
my safety, Sunnysides' insurance/liability and so forth. Having the
backing of Crash For Cause was huge. Don selflessly allowed me to take
his spot in the derby which cleared one of the obstacles. Don and
Dameins appeals to Sunnyside and constant reassurance that this car
would be the safest derby car in the event, removed the second
obstacle. This alone might have taken another year or more
easily...if ever... just to get to this point. I am sure Sunnyside
felt a lot better about me competing, knowing that I would be backed
by a very experienced team. Finally approved to get started!
150+ skilled man and woman hours later the derby car was ready. It was
a rush the first time I got behind the wheel at roughly 1am at Bent Metal Fabrication
and got to do some laps around the parking lot. The motor sounded
awesome without the exhaust . It sounded like the power of a
locomotive but with the handling of a true to its reputation, land
yacht. I was worried about being able to see and drive in reverse
because of my limited / absent torso muscles. However, the wink
mirror proved to be handy and with the placement of the 5 point
harness and hand controls proximity to the steering wheel, I was able
to drive in reverse without much problem. I was amazed how quickly I
felt so comfortable in the car. I had imagined it would take a lot
longer. I felt really good about the car and the event and for some
reason did not really feel nervous about it.
This is the part that perplexed me the most. I kept wondering why my
nerves weren't racked a bit. This is actually not a good thing. When
you underestimate something, that it when you usually get a harsh wake
up call and consequently put yourself in danger. Whether its
wheelchair rugby, a marathon or in my earlier years...a wrestling
tournament, motocross, etc, I always felt an intense anxiety leading
up to the event which soon dissipated after the start. However, I was
not feeling any of this. I was just plain excited to be in the derby
and hang out with everyone. Even the day of the event, I was just
kinda "chill" with everything. When we went out for the best
appearing car event, I was a bit worried about entering in reverse just because
I did not want to take out the spectator stands with a sudden wrong
move. heh.
After the best in show event, we rolled back into the pits and I still
was not very anxious...just excited. I quickly got into my
gear...thanks to all you dressing me. heh. Then........All that
anxiety I had been looking for suddenly hit me all at once as soon as
I rolled through the wooden gates and could hear the crowd, see
friends / crew / family in the stands. I had tunnel vision, felt
uncomfortably hot and my breathing was measured. I was like WTF is
going on with me. I was kinda relieved that I finally got that feeing
cuz it meant I was ready. It hit me pretty good when I saw all the
cars and realized that every driver was dead set intent on hitting me
as hard as they could. There really is no competition quite like it
that can prepare you for the sudden realization that it IS ok to smash
your vehicle into another as hard as you want. Your whole life you are
told that crashing is bad; that its dangerous; that your insurance
rates will go up; that your dad will beat you silly if you smash the
Country Squire. And...now you are lined up in a muddy field and told
to do the opposite. Its such a huge rush to process that feeling. I
just looked in the rear view mirror and remembered Bobby telling me
just before leaving the pits that its very important to make a big,
direct hit to the car behind you and to power through the hit so the
back end bends up as opposed to down. I pretty much realized I was
just gonna have to bite the bullet and go for the bit hit; harder than
the guy behind me. There was not going to be any time to ease my way
in and "feel it out". lol
I looked at the car behind me and just decided I was gonna be the
first to hit the gas all the way to the floor and not let up. The flag
dropped , the horn sounded and I just hit the gas and prepared myself
for an epic hit but the guy swerved out of the way to the outside
line. Immediately I remembered that another driver told me before the
event that if you are sitting in the middle of the field, " you better
get the hell out of there, cuz a hit is coming and you wont even see
it". I made a few hits from what I can remember and was hit as well.
Ironically, I was now pretty calm and composed. I really felt like I
could now just follow Damein and Don's game plan of keeping the front
end of the car out of harms way and strategically making hits every
min or two. However, I made an error and tried to pass by another car,
too close to the dirt berm. I did not realize the car could actually
get pushed into the berm. I just kind of figured I could get out of
there eventually and it would not be a big deal. I was pretty calm and
fired up to get in position and make a huge hit. I had envisioned
being able to start at one end of the field and hit another car at the
opposite end of the field full speed. I wanted to put on a good show
for all those that helped with the car. I felt the car was strong
during my first few hits so I was not overly concerned with making or
taking another. Unfortunately, my rear wheel was stuck but figured it
was just a matter of time before I would be out. Sometime within the
next min or so, I got hit pretty hard and later found out my drive
shaft was completely broken.
I wanted to at least continue a few more minutes and end with flat
tires, rims out of round, a small engine fire and the tail end smashed
up to the driver seat. If you are gonna end early, you might as well
look like you fought a good fight; not with just a few dents and a
broken drive shaft....heh. The good news is that I will get yet
another chance to destroy the car on Labor day in Lancaster. I am
excited to give it another shot. I think I will just stay away from
the berm this time.
It was a great experience. I truly want you all to know how much I
appreciate your work and getting to know you. There might be some who
would assume that you like working on cars anyway....so it was not
much of a sacrifice. I don't see it that way at all. I was constantly
amazed at the number of people who showed up and put in late hours;
knowing you all had early morning work and family commitments as well.
Going through our day to day jobs, tasks, etc, it can easily start to
feel that it is you vs the world in this life. Aside from driving in
the derby, the greatest thing I experienced was being part of a group,
working towards one goal and most importantly, it seemed like we all
had a good time. We always had Mustache Mike ("Ron Jeremy") for comic relief and it was always great to hear his list of favorite
movies...two guys in a cup? Ill see if Netflix can kick it on down.
Many thanks to Damein and Don for all of their organizational efforts.
I think those things often go unnoticed. I have planned events and am
planning an event in October for the Invictus Tour. The hardest part
of the event seems to coordinate it all; yet its the job with the
least recognition.
Thank you all for all of your efforts!
Ryan
Many Thanks to our list of sponsors that have contributed time, money and/or materials...
Red-E-Rentals of Costa Mesa
Pick Your Part
Dromo One - Indoor Karting
Electric Chair
Trilogy Financial
Bent Metal Fabrication
Luparello's Pizza
|
