START YOUR ENGINES; PRIZE-WINNING DRIVER RELUCTANTLY SELLS RACE CAR, BUT OTHER OWNERS PUT HIM RIGHT BACK ON TRACK.

Byline: Angela Randazzo Staff Writer

Juggling his family life, his work as a movie industry driver and his expensive love of driving a race car wasn't easy for Steve Nickolai, who finally decided something had to give.

So earlier this year, Nickolai, who had won trophies and broken local records in National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing competition, decided to take some time out from racing.

``It was time to sell the car and put the racing helmet on the shelf,'' said Nickolai. ``I sold the car, but it was kind of tough.''

Nickolai kept his hand in racing by working on cars as a mechanic, but he missed driving.

``Steve was so down,'' said his wife, Lynda. ``It was like he'd lost his best friend.''

Then Nickolai got a call from Bonnie and Rick Hansen, owners of B&R Printing Center in Simi Valley, who needed a new driver for a car Nickolai had previously worked on.

``I was thrilled, '' said Nickolai. ``It's the ultimate dream to be able to drive someone else's car. They pay the bills, and I get to have all the fun.''

Within months of hanging up his helmet, Nickolai was back in the driver's seat, ready to rev the engine of the Hansens' NASCAR No. 94 Late Model entry that led in owner points at the Irwindale Speedway.

``It's a perfect match,'' said Hansen. ``Steve has four times the driving experience I have, but I can tell him about the track.''

Nickolai was behind the wheel at the Irwindale Speedway on Sept. 18 and finished second in the trophy dash, a six-lap race for the six fastest cars. He also finished second in the main event.

He barely missed winning.

``I was intent on the driving but, all and all, I was very pleased.''

Nickolai's racing career started more than 10 years ago when he was watching racing on television and realized he wasn't content sitting in an armchair.

``I said I can do that,'' Nickolai recalled. So he bought himself a stock car to race and began driving at the Saugus Speedway.

``When I got behind the wheel, little did I know how much I didn't know about racing,'' he said.

He learned by doing and seen many a checkered flag. He won the championship in the street stock division at Saugus in 1989 broke every track record in the sportsman division during the 1996 season at the Kern County Raceway in Rosamond.

Two years ago, Nickolai switched gears and left oval racing for the right and left turns of road-course racing at Willow Springs International Raceway, where he soon became one of the top competitors.

Nickolai was born in 1953 and raised in Colorado. After high school, he went to trade school, became a licensed airplane mechanic and came to California to work in the airplane industry.

He then switched gears and worked at a Ford dealership in the San Fernando Valley for 15 years.

``I decided to change jobs when I was working for $15 an hour on $3 million airplanes and found out I could be working for $20 an hour on $15,000 cars,'' said Nickolai.

His wife, who works for the Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce, is one of his biggest racing fans.

He has two sons by a previous marriage, Josh, 15, a student at Simi Valley High School, and Bryan, 13, an eighth-grader at Hillside Junior High School.

``I'm looking forward to next year when Steve will be driving the whole season,'' his wife said. ``Based on what he's done so far, I thinking he has a shot at the championship.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo: (1) Stock car racing driver Steve Nickolai of Simi Valley collects a trophy from the presenter at the Irwindale Speedway.

(2) no caption (stock car)