MOONEYES Express

遂に会えました / Finally Met Him

5月09日のブログで少し触れた会いたかった Old Man に会う事が出来ました。 http://www.hobidas.com/blog/shop/mooneyes/archives/2012/05/salinas_boys.html I first mentioned about meeting him in my May 9th blog post. 連絡がなかなか取れず心配していましたが今回やっと連絡が付き、 いきなり往復 600 mile の日帰り対面となりました。 It was difficult to get in touch wit him and I was starting to get worried but we finally got in contact with him so we made a 600 mile round trip drive to meet him. The Old Man の名前は Don Nichols 氏、60年代日本のモータースポーツの発展に貢献し、Shelby, Goodyear, Firestone そして MOON Equipment Company の日本での代表を勤めた方でもありその後、Shadow と言うRacing Team のオーナーとなり CanAm, F-1へ参戦、 UOP Shadow と言えば当時の事を知っている方々にとってあまりにも有名な人です。 当時 MOON の日本代表であった彼に昔の MOON と日本との関係を是非聞きたいと思い長い間コンタクト取っていたのです。 やっと会えたので色々聞きたかったのですが話の大半は UOP Shadow の話となってしまいましたが 色々興味深い話を聞かせ頂き、また改めてお邪魔する約束を取り失礼してきました。 彼がいなければ富士スピードウエイも そして日本のレースシーンも無かったと思っています。 The old man's name is Don Nichols. In the '60s he was a contributing factor in the development and growth of motorsports in Japan along with Shelby, Goodyear, Firestone and MOON Equipment Company. After being involved from the start he was employed as a representative in Japan and Shadow Racing Team owner. Within the racing world of CanAm, F-1 and such, UOP Shodow is a familiar name and famouns company. In those days he was also a representative for MOON and did a lot together with MOON in Japan so I had also wanted to connect with him to talk about that time. With all the questions in my head, I finally got the chance to meet him. However a majority of our discussion was about UOP Shadow. It didn't matter because everything he talked about was so interesting to me. In the end, we made a promise to meet again and talk some more. I feel that if it wasn't for him, Fuji Speedway and Japan's racing scene simply would not have been created without him. Don Nichols氏、 89歳、 元気です。 当時 Carroll Shelby は凄くもてたと言っていました。 Don Nichols. 89 and still strong with energy. Back in the day, he said Carroll Shelby was very popular. UOP Shadow CanAm Racing Car, 当時を知ってる人には Shadow はアイデアの宝庫でした。 UOP Shadow CanAm Racing Car. Even back in those days, Shadow was a treasured idea. 帰り道の101、 CHPが先頭立ち、 蛇行しながらクルマのスピードを強制的スローにさせています。 と言う事は この先 「事故」? と言う事は 「通行止め」 になる? 嫌な予感の一時です。 On the way home on 101, there was a CHP in the center of the road driving real slow forcing the cars to slow down. So we thought, it must be an "accident" or something? Which means it must be severe and the road is probably closed? It was a bad feeling. ブッシュが燃えていたためスローダウンをさせた様でした。 It was a brush fire causing the slowdown after all. 自然発火もありますが ほとんど場合はタバコの投げ捨てが原因の火事、 乾燥した場所ではすぐ火がついてしまいます。 There are times when brush fires are caused by nature but many times it's caused by us humans (tossing a cigarette out the window) and with the bushes so dry, a fire is easy to ignite.