Bell Racing provides support for up and coming racers, future stars and teams who are enthusiastic supporters of the sport of racing and will represent Bell in a positive and professional manner.

Bell Drivers

BACK to Previous Page

Driver Profile

Terry Nish

http://www.nishmotorsports.com
Circuit: Other
Team: Nish Motorsports

TERRY NISH PERSONAL BACKGROUND BORN: 9/12/37 in Plymouth, Utah PARENTS ARE: Ernest & Luella Nish TWO SISTERS: Geraldine Littlewood & LaRae Almond Parents moved to Salt Lake City in 1943, Terry attended school in the Salt Lake City School System graduating from West High School in 1955. He married his high school sweetheart Peggy Ann Howick in 1956; together they had four sons, Victor Keith, Michael Dean, Jeffrey Lynn and Terry Ernest (T.J.). Their oldest son Vic died in 1964 at age 7 from cancer. Terry and Peggy were divorced in 1981. While he is still single, Terry is the proud grandfather of six grand children Jonathan, Brady, Colby, Bailey, Andrew and Olivia. Terry is a past president of the West District Little League Football Program and devoted several years to both Little League Football and Baseball programs in his area. This was during the time his sons Mike, Jeff and T.J. were growing up. Terry worked for six years in the Beverage Industry. Three years for a regional brewery Fisher Beer, and three years for a national soft drink company, Shasta Beverages. Terry could see the opportunity and need for a good machinery parts supplier to the Beverage Industry so in 1969 Terry founded Servi-Tech, Inc. and over the past thirty five years has developed and been awarded thirty-one United States and Foreign Patents and eight United States Registered Trademarks that are part of Servi-Tech’s product line that now exceeds over 900 different items that are marketed world wide. Although semi-retired Terry still goes into the office most every day. While the day to day business is ran by son Mike Nish and long time friend and confident Cec McCray. Over the same thirty-five years that Servi-Tech has been operating Terry has had several other successful business ventures. In 1982 Terry and long time friend Dick Zimmerman started Amerifoam, a urethane foam insulation business in Johannesburg, South Africa. Terry sold his share’s in that Company three years later and it is still in operation today. In 1989 Terry was involved with long time friend and racing partner Kent Knowley and his wife Jannette in the startup of a local club and restaurant known as Port O’ Call. Later Kent and Jannette became the sole owners of Port O’ Call and have developed it into the biggest entertainment club in the State of Utah. In 1998 Terry started Performance Product, Inc. this is primarily a distribution Company for Royal Purple Synthetic Lubricants and operates out of the Servi-Tech warehouse and offices. This is a great little Company and shows good growth each year. RACING BACKGROUND While attending high school Terry and his friends were very interested in Land Speed Racing at the Bonneville Salt Flats and went to all the events they could. Terry and his friend Gary Brown started building a car to race at Bonneville in 1958. In 1959 they went to the local oval track at the Utah State Fairgrounds; they fell in love with what they saw. That Saturday night and the next day they started building a 34 Ford Coupe to race at the Fairgrounds, and that started a twenty-five year love affair with open wheel oval track racing. Along with friend Gary Brown, Terry built and owned his own car for four years; a Ford Flathead Powered 34 Coupe. In 1962 they built one of the first offset roadsters still using the Ford Flathead. When the old Fairgrounds track was closed down they still held the Flathead Track Record. A very good friend to Terry was Gayle Hood, he loaned Terry his Ford Flathead Engine that held a national record in drag racing and that made it possible for Terry to compete in the early days, when the overhead Chevy’s and Ford’s were just coming onto the racing scene. In 1963 local race car owner Sam Whitmore put Terry in his newly purchased Jackman Steel Special from San Diego, California. Terry sold his offset roadster to Dick Simon, and drove for Sam for several years. In 1964 Terry won the Intermountain Championship Race and Sam, Terry and crew traveled the C.A.M.R.A. Canadian American Modified Racing Association circuit, which covered Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Edmonton Alberta and Victoria British Columbia, Canada, racing two or three races a week, finishing the season in tenth place. The competition on the C.A.M.R.A. circuit was very strong featuring Jim Malloy, Billy Foster, Eldon Rasmussen and Art Pollard who all went on to race at the Indy 500. After driving for Sam Whitmore for several years and producing a winning record, Terry had the opportunity to drive for several other car owners among them were Whitey Wysong, Utah, Bob Standiford, Utah, Neil Parkins, Idaho, Bob & June Lewis, California, Bill Chipman, Utah and Butch Pease of Utah. While driving for Bob & June Lewis Terry competed with the very tough California Racing Association in Nevada, Arizona and California. Car owner Butch Pease and Terry won the Salt Lake Valley Racing Association Championship in 1980 and 1982. Terry was voted best mechanic in 1979 along with holding the track record and winning the beauty car award. They raced to a second place finish at the Minnesota State Fair in 1978, one of the biggest sprint car races in the country. In 1972 Terry was invited to race in South Africa. Representing the United States of America on a four car team that raced a series of eighteen races over an eight week period. The members of the U.S.A. Team were Captain Dick Zimmermen, Billy Renshaw, Tommy Astone and Terry Nish. The U.S.A. Team won the series. Terry was invited to South Africa for several years to follow and was the Captain of the U.S.A. Team on four of those trips. The highlight of Terry’s oval track racing career came in 1983 when he and his three sons, Mike, Jeff and T.J. were invited to South Africa to be the U.S.A. Team. It was a terrific experience and the Nish Family won the series in a hard fought six week event. T.J. had to get released from high school to participate as he was only fifteen at the time. Cec McCray, Terry’s long time crew chief and friend also made the trip to keep the U.SA. Team up front. In 1982 Terry along with friends Kent Knowley and Marc Sullivan built what would end up being Terry’s last sprint car. It was truly a great car, four wheel independent suspension the engine laid over at thirty five degrees for left side weight and it had a Hewland four speed rear end. The car was fondly known as “Frankenstien” and received a lot of national recognition and press. Mike Nish qualified fourth quick at the Copper World Classic in Phoenix, Arizona one of the premier sprint car races in the country. Mike ran in the top five until he suffered a suspension failure. Jeff Nish qualified and drove the car in the Little 500 at Anderson, Indiana in 1986, he qualified eighteenth and after surviving a first lap crash that had another car on top of his came back to finish ninth. It is the only Sprint Car that Terry still owns and will be restored for vintage shows and races. During his career Terry served on the Board of Directors of the Salt Lake Valley Racing Association for several years and was their Vice President for two years. Terry retired from Sprint Car oval track racing in 1986, and stayed away from racing for the next six years. In 1992 the need for speed was too much. Terry made an arrangement with the Vesco Family to update and race the Vesco Family Streamliner on the Bonneville Salt Flats. After a year of rebuilding and updating the car Terry returned to his first love, Land Speed Racing. In 1994 Terry set a B/Fuel class record at 291.407 M. P. H. which put him into the Elite 200 M. P. H. Club. In 1995 Terry set another B/Fuel record at 338.278 M. P. H. which gave him entry into the very prestigious 300 M. P. H. Club. Some dreams do come true. Terry and his sons along with crew chief Cec McCray ran the Vesco Streamliner for seven years, setting numerous records on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah and the Dry Lake Beds in Southern California Muroc and El Mirage. In 1999 Terry and crew started building their own Streamliner and brought it out in 2002. The car has performed better than anticipated, Mike Nish ran a top speed of 365 M. P. H. in 2002 and the car has set four national records. In the last ten years the Nish Motorsports crew has put six men into the 300 M. P. H. Club. They are Terry Nish, Dave Spangler, Mike Nish, Jeff Nish, T. J. Nish and Jim Wysong, and one woman Pam Curtis into the 200 M. P. H. Club. The team currently holds sixteen National and World Records; an incredible feat. The future looks very promising for the elusive 400 M. P. H. dream. In 2002 the streamliner was judged Utah’s finest at the Auto-Rama Car Show and it was selected as one of ten cars to receive the Mothers Polish Award for Automotive Excellence in the 2002 Sema Show in Las Vegas. Terry, Mike, Jeff and T.J. Nish are recognized as the Worlds Fastest Family and the car and team have the record for the Worlds Fastest Small Block Chevy at 344.561 M. P. H. Another honor Terry is very proud of was being inducted into the Dry Lake’s Racing Hall of Fame in Buellton, California in 2002. The most gratifying project Terry has been involved in is the Utah Motorsports Foundation. In 1999 one of Terry’s close friends in motorsports has fallen on hard time and bad health when his home burned down with no insurance. Terry’s son Mike came to him with the statement we have got to rebuild Eddy’s house. Trying to figure a way to raise the money for the project Terry started looking at charities and foundations, and a short time later his attorneys had all the paper work filed and the Utah Motorsports Foundation was born. Not only was Eddy’s home completely rebuilt and furnished, in the past five years the foundation had raised over two hundred thousand dollars and been able to assist thirty-three other families in the motorsports community. They are from Utah, Idaho, Nevada and California, from all forms of motorsports, Land Speed Racing, Oval Track Racing, and Motorcycle Racing. Terry has a great Board of Trustee’s and Committee Chairmen to make it all work. But it has been a very gratifying effort. See http://www.utahmotorsportsfoundation.com As of Fall 2007 the Utah Motorsports Foundation has raised over $482,000.00 and helped over eighty-five different racers and their families. On November 13th, 2007 Terry was honored by being inducted into the prestigious Utah Sports Hall of Fame. During Speedweek 2004, 2007 and 2008, Terry’s Royal Purple Streamliner was awarded the Hot Rod Magazine Top Time of the Meet Award at 376.102 MPH, 380.046 MPH and 371.080 MPH respectively. The Prestigious Hot Rod Magazine Trophy resides at the NHRA, Wally Parks Museum in Pomona, California. Bell Helmets has been with Terry in every turn of every Season. Stay tuned Terry isn’t finished yet.

Bell Equipment used by this driver