Love for NASCAR Inspires a Vision on Two Wheels
Brett Niebuhr (left) with his wife, Kisha (right) and granddaughter, Paisley.
It’s no secret that TMC has
history on the race track. We love when we can share stories of how racing has influenced someone’s life or inspired a hobby. For TMC driver Brett Niebuhr, embracing a love of racing is helping him stand out in the crowd. When Brett isn’t driving his Black and Chrome Peterbilt (and of course, if the weather is permitting), he can be found riding his 2015 Harley Davidson Ultra-Classic motorcycle. After he initially bought the bike, Brett was constantly asking himself, “What can I do that’s going to make my bike stand out and be unique to me?” The answer came to him when he saw a friend’s bike decked out in a hand-painted Star Wars theme.
“I knew immediately that I wanted to do something similar,” he says. The next question was; what would he have painted on his bike? “I’ve always been a race fan and an Earnhardt fan, so I decided to put Dale Sr. on one side and Dale Jr. on the other,” he says. It all came full circle when Michael Annett, son of TMC CEO Harrold Annett, moved over to JR Motorsports to drive on Dale Jr’s team. “I heard that and thought it was pretty neat, and the paint scheme became even more fitting for my bike.” Tony Sims of Dana, Iowa, did the artwork on the motorcycle. He has his own business titled, Middle of Nowhere Studio. “Tony does amazing work, and I knew
13 | Destination: Excellence | Winter 2020 Edition
he was the guy who could make my vision come to life,” says Brett. He airbrushed the entire bike by hand, and it took about a month and a half to complete. Sure enough, the bike has gotten plenty of attention. “Race fans especially love it, and there are always people who come up and ask questions about it and want to know more,” Brett says. Pictures of the bike have made their way around TMC, and Kelly Earnhardt (Dale’s sister) has even seen it. “I’m really proud of it and how it turned out.” The ultimate dream for Brett would be to meet Dale Jr. and show him the bike in person. “It would be amazing to show the bike to Dale, and I would love to get his autograph on it.”
