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| Hometown .: | Hemet, California |
| Height .: | 6'4" |
| Weight .: | 195 lbs. |
| Spouse .: | Shirley |
| Children .: | Chelsea,Jessica,Kyle |
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Jon Nelson Driver Bio
Jon Nelson along with wife, Shirley and their three children are all involved in the racing life. Nelson has loved racing since childhood, starting with bicycles and homemade go-karts. After taking welding classes in high school, Nelson worked at muffler shops while following the S.C.O.R.E. off-road racing series and eventually getting a job with Walker Evans as a fabricator. From there, Nelson hired on with other teams, working with racing legends such as Parnelli Jones, and finally landing a contract with Chevrolet to run their Class 8 program. This included designing and building winning trucks, as well as functioning as team owner, coordinating strategies and logistics for the entire team. After building several very innovative trucks, the program expanded to the Trophy Truck class and went on to include two trucks in the Mickey Thompson Stadium Series. Motorcycle legend, Rick Johnson drove one truck, while (then rookie) Jimmie Johnson drove the other. In the 10 years with Chevrolet, Nelson’s teams brought home 6 class championships and over 35 wins. All of this and Nelson had never had the opportunity to race a vehicle himself as a driver!
While involved with Chevrolet, Nelson thought about all the talented drivers that just never got a break due to lack of large sponsor funds. How could driving talent show through lack of comparable equipment? Through a series where all vehicles were basically the same - no big dollars on improved motors, etc. just set up knowledge, hard work, and perseverance.
In 1993 Nelson jumped into the drivers seat of a Legends car and in 1995 envisioned the same type of racing (spec) in trucks. With the encouragement of friends, and the help of Jim Smith from Ultra Wheels, Nelson built 12 trucks, selling them on his reputation and started a series. In 1996 the Spec Truck Series was off and running - providing a good place for drivers to test their talents at a reasonable cost. The series has been a big hit, expanding to two regions and the name is now officially ‘The Ultra Wheels Super Truck Series’. Nelson himself ran with the other racers for awhile gaining experience and fine tuning his knowledge which has given him the title of ‘set up guru’. The Ultra Wheels Truck Series is a great place for beginning racing or continuing ones racing endeavors and has become a good feeder series for the Southwest Series.
Nelson’s lifelong dream of racing in a NASCAR series began in 1999 when he began competing on a limited basis in the Featherlite Southwest Series, a NASCAR Touring division. His driving talent appeared quickly in the series, with Bud Poles and podium finishes.
NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southwest Series Driving Stats
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| Starts .: | 26 |
| Wins .: | 2 |
| Top 5s .: | 6 |
| Top 10s .: | 7 |
| Sponsors .: | Ultra Wheels |
| Make .: | Pontiac |
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30 Latest News Articles For Jon Nelson .: More Driver Cards
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