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From the Tower by Bob Frey

I'm sure everyone remembers the saying that was made famous by the ABC Wide World of Sports show years ago. You know the one, about the "thrill of victory and the agony of defeat." Anyone who has been involved in the sport of drag racing, or any sport for that matter, knows what it's like to experience both the highs and the lows of the sport. Win a race one week and fail to qualify the next. Have a really good reaction time in one round and then foul out in the next. Win a championship one year and don't make the top ten the next. And it goes on and on.

Every time a racer loses a round or a race I try to tell them that's it's not the end of the world. More often than not they look at me and tell me that racing is very important to them and winning is what it's all about. Well, anyone who has that opinion needs to take a stroll through the Super Stock pit area at any Division 3 race or at most national events in the central part of the country, because that's where you'll find the Super Stock Chevrolet of Jeff Niceswanger. You really can't miss it, it's a great looking green Camaro that has been part of the Division 3 racing scene for a long time. And once you get in the pit area you'll also find Amy Niceswanger, and if you spend a little time with her you'll quickly learn that racing isn't everything, even for a racing family like the Niceswangers.

Jeff Niceswanger has been racing for a long while and he gets a lot of help and support from his brother, John. "John is the big brother who used to race and who got his little brother involved in the sport," Amy said. "John drove for a while, a long time ago, but now he works with Jeff on the car." The car is a 1986 Camaro that runs in Super Stock and the team is coming off a big win at the recent IHRA sportsman race in Pittsburgh. "We went there and won the Super Stock Eliminator and we beat Anthony Bertozzi in the finals. It was a great weekend," Amy said. Amy and her husband, John, have been with Jeff at almost every event since Jeff started driving. Win, lose or draw, Amy and John can be seen cheering for Jeff and providing inspiration for him as well as a lot of the other D-3 racers. But recently it's been Jeff and John cheering for Amy and offering her support. "Amy was diagnosed with cancer back in 2006," John said. "She began her chemotherapy in June of that year and by July her hair was gone."