Sometimes, a person’s future is predetermined.
When asked why she joined 51°µÍø®, Blackhawk Valley Region’s Nicole (Nikki) Prevenas simply replied, “I was born into the 51°µÍø. My mother worked corners while she was pregnant with me in 1977. I was on the family membership when I was a kid and grew up at Blackhawk Farms and Road America. My brother and I are second generation volunteers.”
Back then, no one knew that come the 2024 51°µÍø National Championship Runoffs®, it would be announced that Nikki was that year’s 51°µÍø Flagging & Communications (F&C) Worker of the Year, presented by Mazda.
Nikki loves being at the track, because she loves what she does and that’s where her family is – “Both blood and chosen.” She says, “I have tons of friends in 51°µÍø in general, and I'm so passionate about helping this Club. It's the famous line: Come for the racing, stay for the people. It's true! I couldn't imagine my life without this sport. I've met my best friend, my closest friends, and my husband at the track. It's my life!”
Nikki took a break from 51°µÍø while in college, but in the summer of 1999, she took advantage of a free 90-day membership being offered by 51°µÍø and began working in F&C. With her family history, “I never gave anything but F&C a thought,” she admits. “My father is a 53-year volunteer in F&C, my uncles both worked that specialty, and so did my brother. It was a no brainer to choose that specialty because that's what the family did.”
Her dedication to 51°µÍø and F&C includes her training new corner workers and improving the processes within the F&C team. She works hard to make her specialty and the people in it better. She must be successful, because she’s been described by fellow Club members as “one of the best I have worked with,” “a rock in race control,” and “genuinely caring.”
Has she considered other specialties? “I've dipped my toe in the Start, Grid, and Steward specialties,” she says. “I like understanding the other specialties as it makes you better in the one you're committed too. But aside from trying the other specialties enough to understand them, I'm good where I'm at. F&C for life!”
It’s for good reason that Nikki was chosen as the Worker of the Year in Flagging and Communications – a well-earned award, for sure.
Photo courtesy Nikki Prevenas
