Columbus' Nuckles Family Named

National Promoter Of The Year

Ohio Track is Part of NASCAR WAAS

NASCAR PR Report

The promoters of a signature NASCAR Whelen All-American Series track have been named as the best in the nation for 2010.

      

By vote of weekly short-track operators across the United States, the Nuckles family and Columbus (Ohio) Motor Speedway received the prestigious 25th annual Auto Racing Promoter of the Year Monday morning. The award is a highlight of the annual Racing Promotion Monthly workshops, held annually in Daytona Beach during Speedweeks.

      

Four generations of the family have operated the .333-mile circular paved oval, which opens for its 63rd season on April 10. Known as one of the Buckeye State’s premier facilities, Columbus Motor Speedway has been part of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series since 1989.

      

“There is not a more deserving family in the motorsports industry today,” said Jim Hunter, NASCAR vice president of corporate communications. “All of us at NASCAR are proud of the Nuckles family for receiving such an honor."

      

Jeff Nuckles, who promotes and announces at the Columbus track, represented his family in accepting the award.

      

“There are so many deserving and talented people who have won this award or should win it and be recognized for what they do,” Knuckles said. “We’re thrilled and happy to receive this honor. It takes so many components to operate a successful track including our employees, officials, drivers, teams and fans. We’re a family business and we’ve persevered through the years by giving the track our best.”

      

Nuckles, confined to a wheelchair since a USAC Midget racing accident in 1984, offered tribute for some career advice his late mother, Barbara, gave him. Barbara Nuckles passed away in 2008.

      

“Mom always told me to ‘find something to do that you love and figure out how to make a living at it.’ Well, mom, we did it,” Knuckles said.

      

Family patriarch, Jim Nuckles, has overseen the speedway’s operation for decades.

      

“We’re excited that Columbus Motor Speedway won this award in Jim’s lifetime,” Cindy Nuckles, Jeff’s wife, said. “Our whole family works hard to make the track successful. The best part of this award is that your peers who operate tracks across the nation are the ones who vote on it.”

      

Jody Deery, who along with her late husband, Hugh, each won the national Auto Racing Promoter of the Year Award, was delighted with the 2010 selection.

      

“The Nuckles are a wonderful family and I think they were overdue to receive this honor,” Deery said. “They’ve worked hard for the betterment of short-track racing.”

      

John and Esther Nuckles originally established the track in 1946 and were followed by their son, Jim Nuckles, and his wife, Barbara, in running the facility. Their sons, Jeff (Cindy), Jerry (Sandy) and John (Jan) are all involved at the track, as are their sons and daughters who include Brock, Tyler, Brian, Shawn, Brett, Haley and Kelly.

      

The track’s premier Late Model division produced 2009 NASCAR NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Ohio state champion Donnie Hill. Columbus Motor Speedway operates on Saturday nights.

      

In addition to the Nuckles family, Red MacDonald won a 2010 divisional Auto Racing Promoter of the Year Award for his family’s operation of Lee (N.H.) USA Speedway.

      

NASCAR Whelen All-American Series track operators who have won the national Auto Racing Promoter of the Year Award in addition to the Nuckles and Deerys over the years include Ray Wilkings, Paul Kuhl, Andy Vertrees, Charley Powell, Chuck Deery and Steve York.