Nick Thomas
A Celebration of his Life
1959 – 2013
If Nick Thomas had worked for Carlsberg and they did funerals you can be sure that not only would they have been perfectly choreographed but they would have also featured a fifty-piece marching brass band; fire-eaters on Harley Davidsons and of course the trademark fireworks at the precise moment when the entourage crossed the threshold!
Flippant? I don’t think so….Nick Thomas will always be remembered by those of us that had the absolute privilege to know him that his ‘smile’ and sense of ‘putting on a show’ were paramount. Enjoying life and having fun underlined his wonderful character.
Hence his role as Promotions Manager for Spedeworth - as his wife Kara put it herself - really was a: “Dream Job – he simply loved it. I often joked that he loved his job more than me!”
Initially he was of course Stadium Manager from 2002-2005, albeit on a part-time basis for Roy & Sally Eaton, even though he already had a full-time job in car sales!
He re-joined his beloved ‘stomping’ ground in October 2008 having been recommended by many to both Deane & Janet Wood.
His ‘gift of the gab’ was honed as soon as he left school (Copleston, Ipswich), joining Debenhams as a furniture salesman. He quickly moved on to his real passion – cars – becoming a familiar welcoming face at John Grose, Henleys, Lancasters and Chrysler Jeep/Mercedes. One of the perks was a company car which freed up cash to enable him to indulge his passion for all things ‘fast’, acquiring a speedboat which he and his mates regularly thrashed about in!
That same passion was perfect for his role with Spedworth. He absolutely loved making the promotional videos; organising the cars for the NEC Shows, Suffolk Show, etc. And of course he was a great Showman, Co-Ordinator and Choreographer, making sure everyone worked to the script and was in the right place at the right time. Pyrotechnics were a particular forte of his (as we’ll discover more of later!) and at all the big meetings he’d be up on the grandstand roof telling the firework guys just when to light the blue touch paper….
As you might expect working alongside Christer Earrey, they worked hard but also enjoyed a rich banter and some memorable giggles, often at Nick’s expense as Christer recalls:
“We were digging a hole to replace a post on the perimeter fence when Nick fell in. Unfortunately I hadn’t seen that and merrily threw a shovel full of dirt which covered him from head to foot!
“Naturally anything with a motor was an attraction for him. Last year he was operating a cherry picker to put some bunting up for Spede Weekend. Unfortunately he managed to hit the armco, threw himself around the cab and almost came flying out! Obviously I gave him a black cross for not holding his racing line!”
How it all started
His Mum (Mary) recalled how as a small boy Nick used to play with his toy Dinky Cars, making a roadway leading from the living room in to the dining room. It was Easter 1972 when, with Dad working away, his Mum took him along to Foxhall simply for “something to do”. The Hot Rods were on as too the flamboyant Barry Lee and you could say ‘that was it’. His love affair of both the sport and his hero worship for the colourful star driver become legendary. Turn two for the Rods became his favourite spot. Older fans will remember –although a couple still exist to this very day – the silver power boxes by the red & white fence which serviced the floodlights. He’d merrily sit on the same one every time and lap up the action….

At age 14 he asked the then Stadium Manager John Earrey for a job and promptly sold programmes in the pits/car park in return for free admission. Hence the ‘lovable’ racing ‘anorak’ and highly successful salesman was well and truly born…….
Whilst appreciating the efforts of every driver and crew, his favourite formulas were undoubtedly the Superstox and National Hot Rods. Neil Rowe has put together some great quotes from Nick on the official NHR web-site – do check ‘em out!
Spede Weekend held a special place in Nick’s heart of course and I recall when I interviewed him for a Short Circuit Magazine feature how he had worked throughout the night on the Friday night and was still painting on the centre green as the sun came up on the Saturday morning. He revealed with unrivalled enthusiasm how at that magical point he knew the greatest weekend on the planet had truly dawned…..
Nick’s passion for racing is of course borne out with his second son Dom (16) who also shares his Dad’s wonderful smile whatever happens. Ben(18), Megan(13) and also Kara’s children Sophie(11) and Matthew(9) naturally have their own very special memories of Dad. Even her son Matthew was ‘converted’ from his love of trains to a liking for race cars instead and often used to accompany Nick on away trips.
“Have you met my wife?!....”
……Nick would proudly tell anyone and rightly so. Aside from sometimes playing second fiddle to racing (don’t all racing wives?!) as we learnt earlier on, let’s just rewind for a moment to a time just prior to what became a chance meeting. Both Kara and Nick actually found themselves on their own leading up to Christmas 2007 and quite independently, both wanted to do some charity work on Christmas Day. By sheer chance they both went to the Salvation Army Chapel in Ipswich to help with the Christmas Dinner – Kara helping out generally and Nick, of course, as chauffeur! They met there for the first time and the rest is history……Kara popping the big question on Feb 29th the following year – it was a leap year after all!
“I had to pick a date for the wedding that he could remember though. He was fantastic at recalling “rubbishy” things, eg anything to do with racing, but conveniently had a memory lapse with anything else!” she laughed. So she plumped for 8/08/08. Even Nick couldn’t forget that!!
Big finish….
Nick’s choreography of pyrotechnic displays are of course legendary and in the early years he also used to get to set them off himself. Gala Nights used to be famous for the caravan stunt with extra caravans being added each year and for extra effect they would be blown up for good measure. Former promoter Roy Eaton almost went up with them one year as Nick pressed the button with Roy still standing way too close!......Nick went one better with stunt driver Mick Bulldeath mind….Poor ‘ole Mick didn’t quite manage to get through the by-now mega row of caravans but, what the heck, Nick had a timing schedule and blew them up anyway with Mick’s reliant robin still inside one of them.…Thankfully Mick saw the funny side despite coming out slightly toasted!....

No doubt Nick would have also used one of his legendary catchphrases when escorting Mick from the stricken wreck: “Chin up fella” would almost certainly have been the cry and you can also be sure that the word ‘CHAP’ would have come in to it somewhere!……
Thanks for always putting on a terrific show Nick – you truly were a splendid CHAP…….