Nike 1A history
Mike Goth in his Nike Formula A at Laguna Seca in 1969. Copyright Bill Wolfe 2025. Used with permission.
Built by Walt Boyd, the Nike 1A was designed to be a multi-purpose car eligible for USAC Sprint Car racing and SCCA Formula A. Mike Goth raced the only known example once in the Pro Formula A series in 1969.
The Nike 1A was unlike any other Formula A car of its period, because it was effectively a USAC Sprint Car design with added wings. It was far more upright than other competitors, which were all to one degree or another based on English racing car design practice.
Boyd described the car he built for Goth as having non-independent suspension front and rear: a solid axle at the front, like a Sprint Car, and De Dion type rear axle. Boyd explained to the author in 2025 that "the reason was that there was no camber change with wing loading". It used outboard coil springs and dampers at the front. He built it in Marblehead, Massachusetts, between 1968 and 1969. Goth raced it in the Laguna Seca Formula A race in early May, but was never in contention. He then raced it in a Super-Modified race on Pocono's ¾-mile oval, where a report in National Speed Sport News said the Nike was "easily the fastest car on the track". However, Goth spun at the end of the opening lap while in second place and never recovered. Goth then bought a Surtees TS5A for Formula A which took him to an impressive third place at Road America in July, so the Nike was returned to Boyd. Boyd later raced it as a Super-Modified at Salt Lake Speedway (Salt Lake City, UT) and Meridian Speedway (a ¼-mile paved oval at Meridian, ID), and as a Sprint Car at Speedway 605 (a ½-mile paved oval at Irwindale, CA). He was still running it as a Super-Modified as late as 1983 at Mesa Marin Raceway (a ½-mile paved oval at Bakersfield, CA).
If you can add to our understanding of this car, or have photographs that we can use, please email Allen at allen@oldracingcars.com.
Mike Goth in his Nike Formula A at Laguna Seca in 1969. Copyright Bill Wolfe 2025. Used with permission.
Mike Goth in the Nike 1A at a Super-Modified race at Pocono in May 1969. Copyright Walter Boyd 2025. Used with permission.
New for Mike Goth (Riverside, CA) to use in SCCA Formula A in 1969. He entered it for three Pro SCCA Formula A races in early 1969, the Riverside Grand Prix in April, the Monterey Grand Prix at Laguna Seca in May, and the Colorado Grand Prix at Continental Divide in June. The only race where he is recorded as having taken part was the Laguna Seca event, where he was last on the grid without having recorded a lap time. He finished tenth, the last of the untroubled finishers. Two weeks later, Goth raced the Nike in a Super-Modified race on Pocono's ¾-mile oval, but spun twice and had to retire with fuel-pump problems. Boyd bought the Nike back from Goth and reports that "after a little testing, it was very fast". He raced it a few times successfully as a Super-Modified and as a Sprint Car, but it has not been possible to locate race results covering his time in the car. In 1983, it was raced by Ken Hamilton in an end-of-season CAMRA (Canadian-American Modified) consolation race at Meridian Speedway (Meridian, Idaho) after his Pink Lady Sprint Car broke down. Boyd then sold it to "a guy in Oregon or Washington". Subsequent history unknown.
Driven by: Mike Goth and Ken Hamilton. First race: Laguna Seca (US R2), 4 May 1969. Total of 3 recorded races.
Acknowledgements
My thanks first and foremost to Walt Boyd for his recollections of the car. There is more information on his website (https://formularpd.com/background) and on his Facebook page. Also to Michael Ferner and Jim Thurman for their knowledge of short oval racing in this period and for their valiant attempts to get me to understand how Super-Modifieds differed from Sprint Cars. Thanks also to the wonderful people behind jakessite.com for their coverage of Pocono Super-Modifieds in 1969, and especially to Bill Wolfe for supplying photographs of this rarely-seen car.
If you can add to our understanding of this car, or have photographs that we can use, please email Allen at allen@oldracingcars.com.
These histories were last updated on .