Entrant, builder, innovator, promoter, team owner

The idea for Shadow, the former D-Day Pathfinder and military intelligence officer, told Pete Lyons, was to “make an art piece. Something really innovative in an area where the innovation could be shown and proven, which, of course, is motor racing.” In 1970, Nichols’ Shadows became standard-bearers for American-made cars in Can-Am, Formula 1 and F5000, winning races in all three and the 1974 Can-Am championship. The knee-high 1970 Shadow Mk.I was perhaps too innovative, but the designs evolved and Tony Southgate’s forward-thinking DN4 dominated the series’ final season. The Shadow F1 program had begun the previous year with Southgate’s DN1 (Don Nichols 1), capturing two podiums. The team’s lone F1 championship win came with Alan Jones at the 1977 Austrian GP, but Nichols was partial to its non-championship victory from pole at the 1975 Race of Champions. A savvy promoter, Nichols’ early Shadows were all black, with a distinctive logo paying tribute to the old Shadow radio serial. They were a huge hit with fans. He closed the team in 1980.