Canadian Jon Nichols Selected for 2WD Class at X Games Rally

Story Courtesy Rally America
Photo by Andrew Harvey

Up-and-coming rally driver "Cowboy" Kenny Bartram will join veterans Doug Shepherd and Canadian Jon Nichols in a demonstration of two-wheel drive talent at this summer's X Games 12 Rally.

The three drivers won't be vying for gold in the action-sports contest. Instead, they'll be showing the X Games audience that two-wheel drive action is just as much fun to watch as four-wheel drive.

John Nichols, one of Canada's undisputed masters of slick-surface driving, began his motorsport career as an ice racer but has been a regular rally driver since the early 1990s. Although he has competed in the all-wheel-drive category, he is a two-wheel-drive pro who has earned six Group 2 National championships in a Volkswagen Golf GTI. His skills are so respected in his home province of Quebec that a regional rally series has been named after him. He will be co-driven by Carl Schenk at the X Games.

Bartram, a motocross pro and X Games veteran who will compete for gold this year in the Moto X Freestyle category, emerged on the rally scene early in the 2006 season. The Oklahoma-based driver, along with co-driver Dennis Hotson, has been taking consistent class wins this year in a Volkswagen New Beetle affectionately known on the scene as the "StudBug."

Shepherd, a factory Mopar driver, is a regular threat for any two-wheel drive win in his snarling Group 5 Dodge Neon SRT-4 and has taken home the prestigious Woodner Cup four times during his lengthy career. Before he signed on with Dodge as a driver, Shepherd was a co-driver to John Buffum during the 1970s and early 1980s. Most recently, Shepherd and co-driver Pete Gladysz stood atop the two-wheel drive podium at the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally in Wellsboro, PA.

The annual X Games is the premier action sports event in the world, featuring athletes from across the globe competing for medals and prize money in sports including BMX Freestyle, Moto X, Skateboard, Surfing and Rally. X Games 12 will be telecast live on ESPN and ABC.

In addition to the three-car two-wheel drive demonstration, there will be a dozen crews competing for gold all-wheel drive, Open class cars at the X Games Rally. Among them: WRC veteran Colin McRae, motocross superstar turned Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana, eight-time U.S. champ Paul Choiniere and 2005 Rally America champion, Pat Richard. The last two all-wheel drive teams to be included in this year’s X Games Rally will qualify at the Maine Forest Rally in late July.