Adrenalin. Speed. Passion.

Three words that are the driving force behind race car driver and enthusiast Nick Soprano.

The form, function, and engineering, of all vehicles has captured his attention and imagination for as long as he can remember. The way the wheels moved, how an engine could purr life into a sculpted piece of metal, and how all of these interacted with each other to produce a machine of precise velocity.

;>First, he got behind the wheel at age seven, driving a tractor. Then, he received his first car at age twelve, a beige 1958 four door Fiat, from a friend that lived across the street. Nick never hesitated to seize an opportunity to do what he loved most - drive. Even if that meant driving the Fiat in the field behind his house after his homework was finished.

A few years, and his entire snow shoveling and horse handling earnings later, he made his first car purchase, an Alfa Romeo. A decision based on “love at first sight” even though he was still too young to legally drive it.

That was the first car in a long and impressive line that was to come. He opened a car dealership in Port Chester, New York and later moved it to its current White Plains, New York location.

Thirty two years of fascination culminated in the realization of a childhood dream when Soprano entered his first Vintage Race at Elkhart Lake. They say the worst thing that can happen to a new driver is winning their first race, but finishing in second place in his Ferrari Daytona Factory Competition car also spurred the progression of his love of cars into a racing obsession.

Race after race Soprano continued to push the envelope. He won a race in a 1957 Masserati. Then finished first, second, and third in the Formula Atlantic Championship Series in 1989. Soprano qualified in the pole position at the 2003 Ferrari and Masserati Historic Challenge in a 250 GT LWB TdF at Limerock, and many more.

Though his time in the racing arena has been filled with memorable and exhilarating moments, his most profound memory is of meeting and speaking with his hero Enzo Ferrari when he introduced himself in his best broken Italian and told him that he was going to be racing that day in one of Enzo's creations. Enzo smiled and shook his hand offering him words of encouragement. Sadly, Ferrari passed away a year later.

However, what he brought to the world was inspired, exquisite, and most of all moving, physically and emotionally. That is what Soprano was drawn to.

That Golden Age of motor racing was in the creations of the ‘30s – early ‘70s. Built out of enthusiasm with a high degree of creative expression by artisan craftsmen. Spirit inspired.

In these vehicles the driver is able to experience a communication /synergy between man and machine. It becomes “quite an adventure going 165mph in a skinny wheeled car made in the ‘50s”, recalls Soprano as he remembers the Laguna Seca corkscrew. The blind downhill right hander where he feinted to the right and then in half a heart beat overtook his opponent on the other side. You need that synergy and connection when you are driving faster that you can think and performance becomes instinctual. Success is in part survival of the fittest.

Vehicles of the Golden age are drawing worldwide attention . As time goes on Soprano believes they will increasingly represent an area of intense interest and be more regarded as art. Much like a Van Gogh or Rembrandt painting. Pure expression, but embodied in metal.

By Arielle Connery

Arielle Connery repairs and restores the interiors of classic and high end vehicles, in her family owned business. She also is an artist and a published poet. Over the past two years Arielle has been focusing on her writing. Expanding her repertoire to include press releases, articles, ghostwriting,editing,etc.