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“LEGENDS NEVER DIE”
“REMEMBERING THE KENTUCKY KID”
“RIDE ON KENTUCKY KID”
“Things I remember about Nicky early were when we tested, the little bit that we tested, we always looked at all our stuff together. It was always “Let’s do it together and figure out how we can sort things out.” I wanted to be able to help him, in any small way that I could, help him become better. I feel like Nicky at sixteen was experi- enced as I was at twenty-seven because of where he grew up and who he grew up with. I remember one time when we were changing, getting ready for a race some- where and he had his earphones in, and I made fun of him by saying “You listenin’ to some Kentucky, country crap?” and he says “Nah, JP.” So, he puts ‘em on my ears and he’s listening to NWA, y’know, and I was just crackin’ up. Race wise -- everything you said, he listened -- not necessarily that he had to listen, but he was always tak- ing it all in. At Sears Point I qualified on pole and I was goin’ quicker than my pole place, and my board kept saying “Plus 1” and it wouldn’t change even though I was going fast. I couldn’t figure it out and I figured out it was Nicky and I thought to my- self “The kid’s sixteen years old.” You almost couldn’t help but laugh, even during a race, although you had to push as hard as you could. At the end of the race, we were on the podium and I was razzing him and I just mentioned “I just hit all my marks.” Same year, four races later at Mid-Ohio, the roles were changed -- he was leading and I was chasing. I distinctly remember going down the back straight- away at Mid-Ohio laughing, thinking to myself “I can’t catch him.” When we got done, of course I shoved him and gave him a hard time, and he goes “Jason, all I thought about was hitting my marks,” and that’s how Nicky was and that’s how those kids were raised. When they got out and train at Earl’s Lane, they’re on a stopwatch and the consistency that they have to show over a certain amount of time was some- thing that’s not foreign to Nicky, Tommy, or Roger. So, when it came down to it during a race, it was just like riding at home together. It’s just been a tragic last two weeks for everybody -- Nicky’s thing probably hit me more than anybody since I’ve been
in the industry, only because I still look at him as a sixteen year old kid even though well into his thirties I still had a relationship with him where no matter where he was in the world or what he was doing, if I just asked him how he was, he always found that minute or two to get back to me. He was always interested in what you were do- ing, too -- it wasn’t just about him. Being able to see the support from all the people around him was great and Nicky’s always going to hold a special place in my heart, not from just racing but as a friend, and he’s gonna be sorely missed.”
-JASON PRIDMORE
WWW.GRITMOTO.COM
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