I was surprised, stumped, and a tad star struck when national speedway treasure Scott Nicholls asked me to write his autobiography. We had collaborated earlier on a fun piece for Speedway Star that, amongst other things, focussed upon his trademark shirts – which he introduced to the pundit fold during his showtime on BT Sports – and his infamous embrace (and afters) with Emil Sayfutdinov at the end of heat 5 in the 2009 British GP at Cardiff.
However, buried within this seemingly light-hearted text was an important reference to the influence of Scott’s dad on his racing career. “I liked the way you handled that,” he later told me.
It has been said that you should never meet your heroes, but as we chatted over several cups of tea at the elegant Runnymede hotel on the banks of The River Thames – a convenient stone’s throw away from the M25 and totally alien to the usual speedway catering facilities – I knew that I could undertake the task since our conversation focussed on a mutuality; ironically, not racing (I’ve only ever been a spectator), but life – the things that puzzle, frustrate, and excite us all. As we continued to shoot the breeze it was evident that although our professional careers were polls apart – I was once a police officer – our slides through life had posed the similar starter for ten: why had all this happened to us? The exciting part for me was the prospect of making sense of it all – something that is still an ongoing endeavour for us both; and I suspect for you too.
In Scott’s case speedway was the golden thread, but his memoirs would become more about the big life quandaries that grip us all. Whatever gender, background, occupation, privilege – or lack of it – we all share the same fragilities of being human.
Of course an autobiography follows a predictable framework, although as the author I had to get inside Scott’s head. That notion still makes me feel somewhat nervous today, but according to Scott I succeeded! This feat was born of a sudden pang of instinct. Whenever I genuinely seek to immerse myself in something new, I inevitably close my eyes to amplify my concentration. The skill of empathy – looking at something from the perspective of another – would inevitably lead me to zone in on the emotional quotient by turning off one sense to turn up the volume in my ears.
Scott was somewhat surprised when I said that we shouldn’t meet but conduct our interviews over a series of phone calls where I insisted that he was also doing something else! I’ve never checked this out with him, but at this stage my own mental health status may possibly have been cause for alarm; to his credit, we followed the formula – more often than not, when he was driving to a meeting, or with daughter Penny sleeping in her pushchair.
After sharing the first chapter with Scott, his feedback was a massive relief – I’d metaphorically got inside his mind!
Other than an unforgettable expedition to Sheffield for the deciding leg of the 2023 Premiership Playoff final where Scott’s van broke down on the trek home, we never occupied the same space. We did however form an unlikely duo at 2am at Leicester Forest East motorway service station – akin to football’s Baddiel and Skinner, or as Scott later dubbed us, Baldy and Skint!
The launch at the 2024 British GP was an emotional affair. We had both lived this experience for the past 10 months or so. Would anyone buy the book? And perhaps more importantly, if they did, what would be their verdict?
I remember Emma, my partner’s daughter, pointing out the queue at the fan zone that seemed to snake back and forth across the entire amphitheatre from the Curtis Sport booth. I’m never afraid to cry happy tears, but on this occasion the apprehension of what would follow seemed to create an emotional status quo. I was in good company as Scott appeared to be just as stage struck as me, even though he had the heavy lifting of signing a stack of copies before he had to race to his commentary duties. If truth be known, we were both emotionally spent!
It soon became evident that the endeavour was worth it, as the incredible feedback rolled in across social media proving that it was readable, but more importantly, it wasn’t only about speedway. Billy Hamill observed at the conclusion of the forward: “Summing him up in a sentence, I would say that Scott is a kick-ass speedway rider, but an even better person.”
The following testimonials more than proved that point too:
“Finished Scotty’s book. Have to say, if you haven’t picked up a copy yet, it’s well worth getting. It’s about more than speedway; it’s about life. There are subjects he deals with that will resonate with many – dealing with life’s ups and downs, death, the past, the future and dealing with the depths of mental struggles; a subject that some men can find hard to talk about. There are plenty of entertaining and funny stories to keep the reader smiling too.”
“Mental Health Advice – With A Shot Of Adrenalin: I just finished ‘Sliding’ and thank you Scott for being a positive male role model. Being frank about the challenges of life, relationships, fatherhood, mental health & recognising lifelong friendships was very refreshing – using your Speedway journey made this very impactive. As a fan of speedway with my own memories of ‘Dad taking me to meets,’ your descriptions brought back cherished memories and ‘peeking behind the scenes’ of more recent Speedway through your anecdotes was a great insight. The writing style felt like a chat over a pint – making it easy to pick up and read a few pages or a few chapters. I enjoyed the photos as they added context and hearing your ‘inner voice’ as you describe some exciting races brought them to life. A great read for any sports fan, petrolhead or anyone looking for a well written, structured, and insightful biography.”
“Sorry to see you had a knock at Oxford last week, hope your shoulder isn’t too painful and your recovery is going well. Hope you don’t mind me messaging but I’ve just finished reading your book and wanted to say thank you, what a mega read! Certainly, a rollercoaster of emotions, really insightful with some great stories and great to learn a bit more about you. A lot I can relate to from the incredible youth Grasstrack scene to the beautiful words regarding your Mum. Your sense of love, gratification, and appreciation for everything your parents have done for you is amazing and prevalent throughout your book. Thankfully, something I share as I have been equally as lucky and as fortunate to have an incredible upbringing like yourself. I wrote my ‘letter’ to my Dad and managed to give it to him before his final journey. Although that was 16 years ago it is as hard today as it was then. My Dad was my best friend, and I believe like you it is only so hard and so upsetting because of the amazing people they were and how much they mean to us. Keep enjoying what you do best, keep ‘putting her on Kevin’ and keep making memories! You are a top bloke on and off track, incredibly talented, a role model and an inspiration to us all!”
“Morning Scott. Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the book. Thanks for being so open, it will resonate with a lot of people; it certainly did with me. As someone who has some struggles mentally, I could see parallels and relate to the feelings. The constant putting on the mask to hide the real feelings; the inner guilt I’ve felt and hidden; relating to others, like the Ricky Hatton part; a documentary that I found hard to watch but helpful at the same time. Finding a hobby during lockdown, which is when I started photography and has really helped me as an escape. I had similar parenting too; a hard working but occasionally fiery dad and a mum who couldn’t have been more loving. I too had to watch her deteriorate and lose her early to cancer and right to the end, she was still showing so much humility to others whilst suffering. I could go on – but just know, you have and will continue to help others by sharing your story.”
“Just finished the book! Brilliant read – really didn’t realise how far speedway could take you around the world! He talks about putting people on pedestals and I think I’d done that with Scott! Whilst I’d never had anything to do with speedway, meeting him and knowing his stature within sport I’d done exactly that! And I mean this with the utmost respect, he is a normal bloke who struggles with the same things most of us do, and he gets to do what he loves! Cried by the pool reading about the loss of his mum… He (and you) should be very proud of the book!”
If you would like to make sense of your own slides through life, Scott’s manual makes a good companion – but I guess we’d both say that!
© Ian Kirke 2024 and all uncredited photographs.
@ iankirke.bsky.social