The Nevada Sagebrush

University of Nevada graduate student Nick Halen sits by his race car. Halen, 23, raced in the NASCAR All-American Series. Halen was voted Rookie of the Year, despite missing half of the races. Courtesy of Cathy Halen

Twenty-three-year old University of Nevada, Reno graduate student Nick Halen’s racing career began by accident. As a child, he started out trying all of the major sports, but it was racing that caught his attention.

After his older brother Jovon got into go-kart racing, Nick’s parents were looking for a way to motivate his older brother to do better. So they used Nick.

“My parents kind of stuck me in as a carrot to make him jealous,” said Halen who started racing at seven. “Ever since, I’ve been racing.”

According to Halen, the pair began to dominate, finishing first and second at many races  that they competed in. During this period, Nick fell in love with racing. Halen’s parents, Cathy and Steve, saw something special right after that first race.

“He thought the racing process through instead of physically wanting to be better than everyone else,” Steve Halen said.

Since the day Halen began racing, it has become much more than just a sport. It’s become his life’s dream.

“It’s my life; that’s for sure,” Halen said. “Everybody who knows me knows me as a racer.”

Racing has become a family affair for the Halens. Steve Halen, who has worked on cars and planes his whole life, is Nick’s head mechanic. Cathy Halen is the team mom and in charge of the financial aspect. Much of the crew is made up of Halen’s friends, something that is invaluable for peace of mind during races.

“The best part of our relationship is the trust,” Halen said. “I know when I go out, my car is not going to fall apart on me. It’s very stress relieving to know I have something solid underneath me.”

The chemistry between the team has paid off for the Halens. This past season, Nick competed in the National Association for Stock Car Racing’s All-American Racing Series, where he finished 11th in points, despite missing half of the races. He had six top10 finishes and won the Rookie of the Year award for the series.

Now, Halen has his eyes set on the NASCAR Camping World West Series, the series under NASCAR’s Busch Series.

Although he has the talent, there is one thing standing in his way: money.

“Most drivers are on a $1 million to $2 million budget,” Halen said. “The team that is interested in me only wants me to bring in half a million dollars to the table so I’m getting a really good deal.”

The question remains whether or not Halen can find enough sponsors to raise the money. Halen has a number of local sponsors, but still needs more in order to move up.

“Right now I’m in limbo,” Halen said. “Currently, I can’t afford to do a full season.”

Struggling to find financing is nothing new to Halen or any aspiring race car drivers. In fact, the sport is notorious for being a “rich man’s” sport and has fueled the phrase: “To make one million dollars in racing, start with two.”

Halen, however, has not let this deter him from going after a bigger goal: NASCAR Sprint Cup.

“NASCAR is everything,” Halen said. “It’s what everyone watches, it’s the thing to do. It’s the only series you can make a living doing what you love.”

However, although Halen knows making it to NASCAR is a long shot, he isn’t deterred from chasing his goal.

What’s even more impressive about Halen’s accomplishments in racing is that he is excelling academically as well as on the race track.

“He said he always wanted to go to college,” Cathy Halen said. “He got great scholarships and we haven’t provided a dime for that. Now he’s in graduate school and he’s still doing that. We haven’t given him a dime.”

According to Halen’s parents, Nick has been a straight-A student all his life.

Even though the dream is NASCAR, the Halens know it will be a difficult road ahead of them.

“Realistically, his ability is good enough,” Steve Halen said. “The only thing our realistic hopes of NASCAR are driven by is finances.”

Although Halen’s future in NASCAR is still to be determined, he is sure of one thing:

“I’ll keep racing my whole life,” Halen said. “We do it every day. You have to live it and breathe it. Racing is my passion.”

Lukas Eggen can be reached at leggen@nevadasagebrush.com.

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