Shadow founder Don Nichols dies at 92

©CahierArchive

Formula 1 and Can-Am entrant and constructor Don Nichols passed away on August 21, at the age of 92.

A former intelligence officer in the US Army, Nichols established a company in California called Advanced Vehicle Systems in 1968.

The company was later renamed "Shadow", perhaps a subtle reference to the founder's mysterious past.

The manufacturer tackled the Can-Am series in 1970 with a radical low-line concept car driven by George Follmer, before setting up shop in England in 1972 and expanding into Formula 1, supported by the Universal Oil Products company.

Ex-BRM designer Tony Southgate was commissioned to design the team's first Formula 1car, the Shadow DN1 which featured a conventional aluminum monocoque and coke-bottle shape. Follmer and Jackie Oliver handled driving duties in 1973 before.

Nichols contracted Peter Revson and Frenchman Jean-Pierre Jarier to race the team's more advanced DN3 in 1974. But Revson's death in South Africa was a big blow to Shadow.

©WRI2

Jarier offered the team solace when he scored a podium finish at Monaco. British hopeful Tom Pryce was brought on board as a promising replacement, and paid back the trust bestowed upon him by winning the 1975 Race of Champions driving Southgate's latest DN5 design.

At the start of the '76 season, team sponsor UOP caught Nichols by surprise when it announced it was pulling out of Formula 1. Despite a reduced budget, Shadow fielded the new DN8 at the start of 1977 but it all went terribly wrong again at Kyalami, in South Africa.

Pryce was killed when he hit a fire marshal running across the track to put out a small fire onboard teammate Reno Zorzi's car.

The sore-stricken team regrouped to the best of its ability given the circumstances, hiring Alan Jones and Riccardo Patrese. In Austria, Jones put in a great performance and lifted the team's spirits when he brought Shadow a much needed Grand Prix victory.

Unfortunately, a few months later, several key personnel -- among them Oliver, Southgate and Patrese -- left Shadow to form the new Arrows team.

Clay Regazzoni and Hans Stuck raced a DN9 chassis in 1978 but without working any miracles for Nichols' now under-funded team.

The following season, there was predictably no improvement as young pay-drivers Elio de Angelis and Jan Lammers learned the ropes of Formula 1.

Shadow's fortunes declined miserably in 1980, to the point where its remains were sold to Theodore Racing's Teddy Yip in 1981.

Shadow existed for less than a decade, yet won in F1, F5000 and Can-Am. To this day, Don Nichols remains one of only three Americans, along with Dan Gurney and Roger Penske, to ever field a winning car in Grand Prix racing.

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.