By RON WARE
The Rumble Series
Bryan Nuckles may be a tad too old to still wish for a bright, red racecar for Christmas. But that’s exactly what the 27-year-old is getting … even though it won’t fit under the tree.
Nuckles, whose family operates Columbus Motor Speedway, will realize a lifelong dream when he buckles into a midget for the first time in the Rumble Series events in Toledo and Fort Wayne.
Remarkably, he’ll be driving the same red, No. 57 Edmunds-VW in which his father, Jerry, began his midget career almost 35 years ago. Jim Nuckles, the 80-year-old patriarch of one of Ohio’s best-known racing families, surprised his grandson a few months ago by telling him that he planned to recondition the car, which had been in storage since it was reacquired four years ago.
Asked if he would like to drive it in the indoor series, Bryan Nuckles was nearly speechless. “I’ve always wanted to drive anything I could get my hands on,” said the younger Nuckles, who began racing quarter midgets at age 4. “But after I became too old for quarter midgets, my dad wasn’t too hot on the idea of me continuing. A couple of years later, he helped me get into Legends, and we’ve been pretty successful.
“I’m glad we’re finally getting the chance. It should be a pretty decent car. I’m looking forward to it – definitely.” His grandfather did most the work in getting the car race-ready, tearing it apart, rebuilding it and rewiring it. Longtime family friend Denny McNutt of Mini Performance Specialties in Toledo rebuild the 140 cubic inch engine.
“Being an old fellow,” Jim Nuckles said, downplaying his mechanical abilities, “I didn’t know if it would run or not. Jerry and Bryan put some gas – er, alcohol – in it and fired it up, and it ran. “So it ran. So they started changing front axles to try to make it better to run indoors.”
The car was among the first four constructed by California’s Don Edmunds to accommodate the Volkswagen engine, which quickly dominated midget racing. The Nuckles took delivery in December 1973, and the car launched the careers of both Jerry and his younger brother Jeff. The family sold it in about 1982, reacquiring the car in 2005. “It was just something we wanted to get ahold of,” Jim Nuckles said.
Bryan Nuckles, who has 45 career Legends Cars victories since 1999 and another in 305 winged sprints, is handy with a wrench, too. He has a mechanical engineering degree from Ohio State University and works as a mechanical/vehicle design engineer at Farber Specialty Vehicles in Columbus.
But he’ll be leaning on his family for tips on racing in the tight confines of indoors. The concrete tracks inside Toledo’s SeaGate Centre and Fort Wayne’s Memorial Coliseum Expo Center are approximately 1/6 to 1/7 of a mile in length, requiring a driver to turn almost constantly while battling wheel-to-wheel with other cars.
Jerry and Jeff Nuckles were standout drivers in the U.S. Auto Club and regional groups until Jeff sustained paralyzing injuries in an accident at Eldora Speedway in 1984. Jerry, feeling it was the right decision for the family, retired immediately.
But each has given countless hours nurturing their son’s career. Jeff’s son, Tyler, a freshman at Ohio University, made his midget debut last winter in the Rumble Series and will be back this month in the No. 00x car owned by Steve Miller of South Charleston, Ohio.
Bryan will rely heavily on his dad’s advice. “Once we get to the track, he’ll take over,” he said. “He knows what to do and what not to do. He’s pre-warned me about how physically demanding it is. If we make it to the feature, I’ll be tuckered out.”
While Bryan and Tyler will be driving for rival teams, they have more of a big brother-little brother relationship -- not that brothers never squabble. Last summer in a race at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway, the two were running 1-2 in the feature, with Bryan leading, until they crashed each other out. “If it was anybody else, I would have been mad,” Bryan confirmed. “But he’s family. How can you be mad at family?” Especially if you’re part of a family like this one.
For more on Bryan Nuckles and his home track, visit
www.bryannuckles.tk and columbusspeedway.com
Attached Photo- Jim, Jeff, and John Nuckles at the Fort Wayne Coliseum basement pits. The cars USED to be brought up to the Coliseum floor by elevator.
The races are now held in the larger EXPO Center next door.
