It's flying in our photo, but the first time we spied the Nissley Racing Team and their Jeepspeed Cherokee it was an entirely different situation.
Flash back four years for a moment. At the time, the Green Streak had screeched to a halt next to the race course in Barstow, California, after the driver's side steering knuckle called it quits. With a dangling wheel and no spare knuckle, the only thing they could do was wait for a fellow Jeepspeeder to finish the race so they could borrow the knuckle from his rig and make their XJ mobile again. After a long day, the unmistakable NRT Cherokee was safely back on the trailer and headed back to the shop for some upgrades.
"I inherited a two-door XJ 4x4 from my grandfather," Chris Nissley relates. "I had planned to build it up into a Jeepspeed racer, but realized that it would be cheaper to find one that was already built." Chris, together with his father, Bill, and his brother, Tom, found their already-built XJ on eBay. The four-door 2WD had been built by a Jeepspeeder in San Diego, California, and had been raced in the SCORE series. "It was in pretty bad shape," recalls Chris. "Even though it was cheaper in the beginning to buy something already built, we ended up re-building almost everything." Needless to say, a ton of things have changed on the Nissley Jeepspeed Cherokee since we saw it the first time.
The Nissleys didn't build the XJ all by themselves. Chris is quick to give credit to Keith and Tony Sato of Sato Brothers Racing. The latest Sato Bros. upgrades re-worked the engine cage, as well as the front and rear axles which Tony assembled using Currie components. Keith was responsible for the front light bar, which houses a retina-searing quartet of Sol Tek lights.
The day after our photo shoot, Chris lined up for the M.O.R.E. ORAF 500. He drove the entire race and took home top honors in the Jeepspeed class. "I had help from a few different co-drivers that day, and my friends from the Mojave Mafia chased for me from start to finish. Toward the end, I was getting pretty fatigued. I came into the pits and Tony asked me how I was doing. 'Bad,' I said. He told me 'OK, get going!' After I finished, I was almost delirious. My wife came up to give me a hug and I shook her hand!" Chris somehow recovered from the 11-hour driving session and celebrated around the campfire until the next day's dawn was beginning to crack.
Congratulations go out to the entire Nissley Racing Team. We first met them on the sidelines. If you want to see them now, you should check out the finish line.
More information is available at www.nissleyracingteam.com.
Specs
Vehicle:
1990 Jeep Cherokee four-door 2WD
Owner/Hometown:
Nissley Racing Team, Brea, CA
Engine:
4.0 inline six built by Jeep Tricks motors, MSD ignition, Mopar Performance roller rockers.
Induction:
Stock with UNI filter, F&B throttle body
Transmission:
AX-15 5-speed
Front End:
Custom Currie 2wd beam fabricated by Tony Sato
Rear End:
Currie F9 with, 35-spline axles, disc brakes
Ring And Pinion:
6.0 to 1
Front Suspension:
Skyjacker 6-inch kit with Currie Johnny Joints on all pivot points, Fox three-tube bypass shocks, Rubicon Express ZJ coil springs, Fox bump stops.
Rear Suspension:
Deaver leaf packs, Fox three-tube bypass shocks, Currie shackles
Tires:
33-inch Maxxis Bighorn
Interior:
NRT-built dash with Auto Meter gauges. All wiring was done by Bill Nissley. Icom radio, Lowrance GlobalMap 1600 GPS, Crow Enterprises harnesses.
Other Stuff:
Sato Bros. Racing engine cage and light bar
 After a particularly hard...  After a particularly hard hit bent the original engine cage, Keith and Tony Sato re-built it using a better design and better fabrication skills. Look closely and you can see the removable front cross brace and the sturdy mount for the dual remote oil filters. The 4.0 inline six was sourced from Jeep Tricks and uses an F&B throttle body, MSD ignition, Moper Performance Roller Rockers, and a UNI filter for reliable propulsion. |  What do you do when your brake...  What do you do when your brake master cylinder is in the way? Move it! This dual bellcrank-and-pushrod system retains the braking power of the original configuration. |  Do you have cool neighbors?...  Do you have cool neighbors? Keith Sato happens to live next door to Chris, and generously built this slick light bar for the NRT Jeepspeed. Four Sol Tek lights illuminate the desert night. NOS Energy Drink gives the team a second wind during long races. |
 The front end is another Sato/Currie...  The front end is another Sato/Currie creation. Tony Sato used heavy-wall tubing for the main structure and then built the mondo-gusset of all gussets. Running the entire length and tying the housing ends together, it's part of the strongest Jeepspeed front axle we've seen to date. A similar front axle could be built in 4WD form, but the Nissleys chose 2WD for less weight and greater simplicity. |  The dash was fabricated by...  The dash was fabricated by Bill, Tom, and Chris Nissley. Bill re-wired not only the dash, but the entire Jeep. "It was the first time he'd wired a vehicle, and he nailed it," says Chris..... |  ....Note the color-indexed...  ....Note the color-indexed gauges in front of the co-driver, which have idiot lights below them. When you're bouncing around during a race, it's sometimes hard to accurately read a gauge, but it's always easy to see whether an idiot light is on or off. |
 One of the best parts of racing...  One of the best parts of racing a Jeepspeed Cherokee is the generous storage room inside. The Nissleys removed the window glass to shed weight from their ride, but the spare tire, tools, and other essentials are still well-protected behind the sheet metal. |  The stock Jeep rearends are...  The stock Jeep rearends are marginal when it comes to withstanding the relentless pounding of desert racing. Currie Enterprises' F9 Fabricated 9-inch rearend goes the distance under the Green Streak...... |  ......Currie employee Tony...  ......Currie employee Tony Sato personally welded this housing, which uses 35-spline axles, disc brakes and a 6:1 ring-and-pinion set. After the housing and other vital rearend components had been collected, NRT team member Rob Renken performed the final assembly. A J.E. Reel drive shaft supplies input power. |
 The rear spring hangers are...  The rear spring hangers are gusseted to the unibody's main rails for extra strength. Deaver leaf packs are used in conjunction with Currie shackles. Fox Racing Shox three-tube bypass shocks control the bump and droop. |  Did we mention storage space?...  Did we mention storage space? The floor jack is fastened with a rubber bumper that keeps it from rattling. A video system is protected inside the blue Pelican case in the center, and the bolted-down ammo box holds other essentials. |  This XJ's fiberglass parts...  This XJ's fiberglass parts come courtesy of Rusty's Off-Road, and do a great job of covering the 33-inch Maxxis knobbies. |
 We mentioned the Mojave Mafia....  We mentioned the Mojave Mafia. It's made up of a collection of friends and family who share a passion for fun in the desert. Show up to a Mojave Mafia gathering and you'll get to know the meaning of 'hospitality.' | | |