Don Nichols (November 23, 1924 – August 21, 2017) was the founder and former principal of the Shadow CanAm and Formula One racing team.
[1] Nichols, a U.S. Army combat veteran of World War II and Korea who then served in Military Intelligence, later found success as an entrepreneur in Japan before returning to the U.S. and setting up his own company called Advanced Vehicle Systems in 1968.
With major sponsorship from Universal Oil Products (UOP), Nichols expanded his operation and entered F1 at the start of the 1973 season with Oliver and George Follmer driving the new Shadow DN1.
Tragically, Revson was killed during testing at the Kyalami circuit in South Africa when a suspension part failed.
The season showed tremendous promise with Jarier claiming the team's first pole position at the 1975 Argentine Grand Prix in the all new Shadow DN5 followed by a second pole position and near win by Jarier at 1975 Brazilian Grand Prix before a breakdown while in a commanding lead.
Despite numerous successes during the season, original sponsor UOP, notified Nichols late in 1975 that they would be withdrawing their sponsorship.