NICK JOANIDES HEADS TO THE SHOWDOWN WITH MIXED EMOTIONS

Source: JSI Motorsports
Date: 11/08/2005

CHATSWORTH, California -- After running virtually every race more than 2,000 miles from home this season, it took Nick Joanides more than 40,000 miles of round trip travel to compete in the Nascar Autozone Elite Division Midwest Series with a goal (and just about every full time drivers goal in the Elite Division) of earning an invitation to the Toyota All-Star Showdown which ironically is held at his home track, Irwindale Speedway, just 40 miles from his home.

Nicks season was filled with anticipation, excitement and frustration. After receiving a call from David Stammer, owner of the #45 Midwest Series team based in Appleton, Wisconsin, Nick was excited at the opportunity and challenge to compete on tracks that he had never seen before from as close as Colorado to as far as Kentucky with the majority being in the Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois areas. His team showed strength from the start, qualifying on the front row at the first event of the year and while the strength continued to show throughout the year with solid runs at just about every event, bad luck seemed to never go away as the team experienced some type of problem in seven out of the nine races they ran. While the results for the season were far from spectacular, even with all of the bad luck they experienced, amazingly their worst finish of the year was 14th, with the season highlighted by their 4th place finish at the 1.5 mile Kentucky Speedway, leading to a 9th place finish in the final point standings, just three points out of 8th and only 116 points out of 4th and earning Nick his invitation to the All-Star Showdown. Nick would like to thank David Stammer and his team for their hard work throughout the year and for helping him earn his first trip to the Showdown.

While Nick will be happy to return to familiar ground at Irwindale Speedway, he is taking it a step further and will bring familiar surroundings with him, as he will join forces with the team that he enjoyed the most success with throughout his career. Thanks to the help of Gail Chase who will provide the car, Nick feels he has his best opportunity to finish up front as he and Gail will team up with Jackson Race Cars to compete in the Showdown. Nick however goes into the race with a heavy heart as this will more than likely be the final race of his touring career.

While Nick has always raced on a tight budget, spending virtually every dime he could come up with to continue racing, costs have finally escalated beyond what he feels he can afford to just get a car to the race track. He is extremely grateful to all of the people who have helped him throughout the years, but has discovered that with the uncertainty surrounding the Elite Division and rumors that there may not be a series after next season, it is becoming harder and harder to find people willing to invest in a series that may not have a future. Nick has always been accustomed to being competitive and consistently running toward the front, but with all of these things considered, does not feel it would be possible to return and be consistently competitive on the budget he has to work with, so rather than struggle to do it all on his own and more than likely only be able to afford to run mid-pack, he feels that the time has come for him to strap on his helmet one last time, then hang it on the mantle as a souvenir. Nick can not think of a better way to finish off his career, than at the biggest event ever for the Elite Division and with the team that has made him feel like family for nearly a decade. He hopes that his return home, both geographically and with the people he spent much of his career with, will be able to rekindle the magic just one more time for him to graciously bow out with a great run. Nick does hope to remain involved in racing in another capacity and leaves the option open that sometime down the road if circumstances allow, he will return to racing at the local level just to have some fun!

"It will be sad to give up something that I have loved doing for so long and I have been very lucky to have had the opportunity to chase my dreams and be able work with some incredible people, all of which, whom without, I would never have enjoyed the success that I did and I am thankful beyond what words can say for all of the time and effort they have dedicated to me over the years. I know that they are among the best in this sport and they deserve to be on a winning team. With my current financial situation and as competitive of a person as I am, I know I can no longer afford to provide myself and my team with the best opportunity to consistently run up front, so it is with a heavy heart that I will now have to put my dreams aside and pursue other opportunities in my life". Nick said.

More detailed information is available at Nicks website www.joanides.com

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